Houston Co. judge sets hearing in case of Harvest versus United Methodist Church
DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) — On Friday, a Houston County judge scheduled a status hearing in the case of Harvest Church in Dothan against the United Methodist Church.
This comes after the Alabama Supreme Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Harvest against the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in April.
Houston County Judge Christopher Richardson has scheduled a status hearing on July 25 at 1:30 p.m. between the two parties. This hearing will allow the court and the parties to check the status of the case before advancing it any further.
According to court documents, a motion to dismiss the case has also been filed. That motion will likely be discussed during the status hearing.
The fight began early last year when Harvest split from the AWFC and feared the denomination would seize their property. The church then filed a lawsuit and protection order against the AWFC.
The denomination has repeatedly requested the case be thrown out, saying it was a matter that needed to be handled internally and not in a court of law.
However, the Supreme Court disagreed, saying that Harvest’s filing of its deed and organizational documents opened the door to having any property dispute handled in the court system.
The Judges also said the denomination had not provided enough evidence to support the dismissal request.
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