the Aug, 2025 lawsuit against The Independent on botched midwifery article - Justia - Pacer

Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
Pacer

Heritage Ministries v. Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd.
https://unicourt.com/case/pc-db5-casegu25d8b0325653-2191847
This docket was last retrieved on October 13, 2025. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.

filing error
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/texas/txwdce/6:2025cv00330/1172857524

Heritage Ministries v. Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd.
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/texas/txwdce/6:2025cv00364/1172859614

Party Details

Plaintiff
Heritage Ministries doing business as Homestead Heritage
Defendant
Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd.

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www.independent.co.uk

Living in a ‘cult’ was all she knew — until a traumatic birth pushed her to escape

Six former Homestead Heritage members who were born into the conservative religious community in Waco, Texas, spoke with Michelle Del Rey about their experiences leaving the church as adults. The former members described it as a “cult” that limited their education, medical access and freedom
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

Facebook - Homestead Heritage Contacts
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Facebook - The Independent
https://www.facebook.com/1000643800...jw54k4b7D4dJ9ehBhCVQZ3EABi5zpV5w68rEeyJKfrl/?
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lengthy. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/meeshdelrey/status/1838338767477772322&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjJj8jBjrePAxUVpIkEHbNxE4AQFnoECEwQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2ugmSdNt6mpDSR7uvFLcW8

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1838338767477772322
 
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Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
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Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
Thanks for the article, Independent and Michelle!

Note: As of Sept, 2025, still no apology was ever offered by Amanda Lancaster or Homestead Heritage for the botched midwifery. Instead, lots of fuzz and buzz. Some say they have a Public Relations company at work!

However, they have filed an absurd, frivolous lawsuit in West Texas in August 2025 against The Independent. This follows on the heels of a similarly ludicrous lawsuit almost a year ago against Town and Country Magazine (and auxiliaries).

While lawsuits are not really funny, (well we have the Tom Paxton song, "One Million Lawyers") there is a lot of humour in the Homestead claims and the truth and the responses! Remember the key dictum - "falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus".

We have a group on Facebook called Homestead Heritage Contacts where we try to keep everybody up to date on the legal shenanigans of Homestead and discuss lots of stuff. Long ago, we pointed out that the word "cult" was not actionable in USA defamation suits, based on an excellent 2006 Texas court decision.

Note: the group itself welcomes a wide variety of viewpoints about Homestead Heritage, occasionally we have posts from insiders, many posters are quite sympathetic, at least to the original vision and direction. We do have posters who go back to the 1970s-1980s and NYC, NJ and Colorado.

We do have a principled admin position against really dumb, frivolous lawsuits! (Go, Independent, Go!) One or two shills have tried to defend the first Homestead suit here and there, but it is going nowhere, slow.

Steven (Avery) Spencer
Dutchess County, NY USA
 
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Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
Reddit
Um, Homestead (or any perp) saying "that's not true" isn't actually disproving anything.

Definitely watch and pay attention to the Alabama court case Heritage Ministries filed, which is based on this very audacious claim.

There are dozens of very motivated victims and witnesses lining up to disprove this ridiculous lie Homestead keeps telling. Abuse is a way of life there, particularly BECAUSE Homestead is more concerned with protecting their image, than the victims (as AAsilvers demonstrates).

The lawsuit, and some discussion on it, is here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/a88BNsayBqEfcjqD/

See also:
www.facebook.com

Homestead Heritage contacts | Extremely important | Facebook

Extremely important! It is looking more and more clear that Homestead Heritage elders / leadership worked together in a conspiracy to deceive the public, and even law enforcement, in the 2005 DeLong...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com

Furthermore, the worst predators are Blair Adams own sons (not peripheral people) and they are the leaders, so Homestead is still protecting them:
(full story in comments if the audio is hard to hear)

Here's a second witness that confirms the account:

Homestead only "turns in" peripheral people, or the people who leave the group for another reason, but they absolutely protect and cover up for the members (especially ministers) still in the group.
 
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Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
Discovery due by June 30, 2026;
Dispositive Motion due by September 9, 2026;
Final Witness and Exhibit Lists due by November 9, 2026;
and Trial ready by December 2026.
Signed by Judge C Lynwood Smith, Jr on 11/13/2025
 
Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
​
12/05/2025
19​
Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File and/or Amend Briefing Schedule RE Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiff's Response and Defendant's Reply by Heritage Ministries. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order to Joint Motion to Amend Briefing Schedule for Defendant's Motion to Dismiss)(Little, J.) (Entered: 12/05/2025)
12/08/2025
​
Text Order GRANTING 19 Motion for Extension of Time to File entered by District Judge Leon Schydlower. Plaintiff's response is due January 12, 2026, and Defendant's reply is due February 13, 2026, as requested. (This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (LS) (Entered: 12/08/2025)
01/12/2026
20​
Response in Opposition toMotion, filed by Heritage Ministries, re 18 MOTION to Dismiss filed by Defendant Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd. (Little, J.) (Entered: 01/12/

11/24/2025
18​
MOTION to Dismiss by Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd.. (Attachments: # 1 Appendix 1)(Robb, Catherine) (Entered: 11/24/2025)
12/05/2025
19​
Joint MOTION for Extension of Time to File and/or Amend Briefing Schedule RE Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiff's Response and Defendant's Reply by Heritage Ministries. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order to Joint Motion to Amend Briefing Schedule for Defendant's Motion to Dismiss)(Little, J.) (Entered: 12/05/2025)
12/08/2025
​
Text Order GRANTING 19 Motion for Extension of Time to File entered by District Judge Leon Schydlower. Plaintiff's response is due January 12, 2026, and Defendant's reply is due February 13, 2026, as requested. (This is a text-only entry generated by the court. There is no document associated with this entry.) (LS) (Entered: 12/08/2025)
01/12/2026
20​
Response in Opposition to Motion, filed by Heritage Ministries, re 18 MOTION to Dismiss filed by Defendant Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd. (Little, J.) (Entered: 01/12/2026)
 
Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
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DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

Defendant Independent Digital News & Media, Ltd. (“The Independent'' or “Defendant”) respectfully submits this Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint (’‘SAC” or “Complaint”) pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff brings its defamation and unjust enrichment claims arising from an article published by The Independent about the experiences of former members of Homestead Heritage, a controversial religious community that has been the subject of much media coverage. Plaintiff does not dispute that The Independent accurately reported these former members’ accounts of their experiences; rather. Plaintiff challenges statements in the article that are not about it, mischaracterizes statements to create defamatory meaning where none exists, challenges opinions that are non-actionable, and ignores The Independent’s privileges to report true accounts on matters of public concern. Because Plaintiff’s claims fail on both procedural and substantive grounds, its case should be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6).1

1 Plaintiff has already re-pleaded its claims twice and could not articulate a cognizable claim. It should not be given a third bite at the apple.
 
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Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
As relevant here, the Article recounts that on the day she gave birth, Noa Haugh
“says she did not receive pain medication, nor did she ask for it, because it went against
church policy.” SAC Ex. A. The Article includes Homestead Heritage's denial that “it has
‘no policy whatsoever on the use of pain medication.’”4 Id. According to Haugh, while
pushing out her baby she suffered a third-degree tear, and “Lancaster administered local
anesthesia and sewed the area back together.” Id. After she left the church and became
pregnant with her second child, however, she suffered “significant pain” and her new
midwife told her “she had been improperly sewn up during her first birth, which led to her
tissue not healing correctly.” Id. According to the Article, Haugh “says the procedure left
her with permanent injuries to her pelvic floor.” Id. She subsequently filed a complaint
against Lancaster with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Id.5
Because the incident occurred outside the statute of limitations, however, TDLR did not
pursue Haugh's complaint. Id.
 
Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
Fairly read, the statements about which Plaintiff complains are either not about Plaintiff, do not convey the defamatory meaning Plaintiff claims, constitute protected opinion, and/or are privileged under Texas law.7 For these reasons, therefore, set forth more fully below, Plaintiff s claim against The Independent should be dismissed.

============================

CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, and specifically because Plaintiff has failed to state a
cognizable claim in this matter, Plaintiff s Second Amended Complaint should be
dismissed in its entirety with prejudice.
 
Steven Avery

Steven Avery

Administrator
INTRODUCTION

Homestead Heritage is a Christian community that celebrates its faith by pursuing a simple, agrarian lifestyle and promotes that faith by hosting visitors at the craft village on its property. country markets, fall harvest festival, and annual Homestead Fair. Heritage’s community seeks to live quiet and peaceful lives. That all changed when Defendant authored and published a scathing article ridiculing Heritage’s faith and way of life, based on false statements—made by a handful of individuals—that Defendant uncritically accepted and advanced as true.
 
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