On Jeff Durbin’s Foolish Lawsuit

Jeff Durbin is the founding pastor of Apologia Church, a nondenominational Reformed (Calvinist) congregation in Mesa, Arizona. The church is known for its strong emphasis on Reformed theology, street-preaching evangelism, and activism on abortion abolitionism. Consequently, they have a large online presence via Apologia Studios,  a YouTube channel with 591,000 subs. Durbin and the other elders, James White, Luke Pierson, and Zach Morgan, are prominent in Mid Eva Reformed circles, often engaging in debates with Mormons, atheists, and others.

Crazy Lady Marital Woes

Hailey Osborn-Merris and her husband, Cameron Merris, attended Apologia Church sometime after getting married. Hailey was on her second marriage, with a domestic violence background from her previous marriage.

On July 25, 2024, there was a domestic incident where police were called. Hailey was brandishing a handgun. Both sides agree that she did not aim the firearm, but Cameron claimed in the police report that Hailey hit him and implied suicidal ideation. Hailey disputes hitting Cameron and gives a more innocuous explanation for the firearm.

Police report copies were published by Sarah Young of Check My Church, the article tied to the lawsuit.

The couple discussed the incident with the church elders who were not too pleased with the firearm implications of Hailey’s alleged actions, viewing her as a risk to people’s safety. The church banned the couple from attending for 12 months, citing a lack of accountability on the part of Hailey and the need to protect the congregation, suggesting she needed psychological evaluation.

Meanwhile, Jeff Durbin’s article was spilling the tea:

What immediately stands out is that Saylor Perez gets material facts wrong. Police carried out no arrests because they believed no crime was committed.

Thus, when Jeff Durbin is accused of slander and gossip, there is a smoking gun in these claims. Durbin disputes that he was the source of the gossip. Sarah Young also noted in her writing the controlling nature of Apologia Elders, which is not a previously unknown phenomenon.

Apologia Strikes Back

Jeff Durbin, after threatening lawsuit, filed in October 2025. Luke Pierson and Zach Morgan were also plaintiffs, although Zach Morgan has since removed himself. As AZ Central reports on this lawsuit:

Defamation is more than just lying about someone. There are four criteria:

1. Making a false statement about something that is a verifiable fact.
2. Publishing or telling the false statement to a third party (in this case, TikTok or Young’s website).
3. Making the false statement, knowing it’s false or at least showing negligence for the truth.
4. The false statement has to cause actual harm to the person or entity that the statement is about.

Proving defamation against a public figure is even harder because you have to show the person who made the false statement was trying to cause harm, a threshold called “actual malice.”

This presents a steep legal challenge for the Team Apologia, because even Young and Hailey’s editorializing or narrative spin might be their genuine beliefs about the facts of the case.

Analysis

Apologia banished nonmembers for 12 months, which is not quite an excommunication. I will defer to the local church on this one, as it seems they had a reason to believe that Hailey was a safety hazard. That being said, the lawsuit runs the risk of violating 1 Corinthians 6, unless Apologia does not recognize the faith profession of people who were drawn to them because of their online presence.

Jeff Durbin and company, perhaps rightfully, believe that Hailey Osborn-Merris is a crazy person. So why not move on from this? If their cause is righteous, it would seem wiser to ignore her and Sarah Young’s reporting, or say that she’s a psycho and move on. Dragging this out in court poses a lot more risk for Apologia, reputationally, than it promises reward.

A litigious church with Mid Eva celebrities could have their lawsuit dismissed on anti-SLAAP grounds, an embarrassing yet likely outcome. This lawsuit is folly, especially since Jeff Durbin’s daughter spread misinformation about the incident.