Court dismisses most remaining defamation lawsuits against Gateway, Robert Morris

A Texas appeals court this week dismissed most of Cindy Clemishire’s defamation claims against Robert Morris, a former pastor of the Dallas-area Gateway megachurch. Morris previously served prison time for sexually abusing Clemishire when she was a child in the 1980s. The appeals court also dismissed all of Clemishire’s claims against Morris’ wife, Gateway Church, and three of the church’s elders.

However, the court said Clemishire could still pursue a defamation claim against Morris based on statements he made in one specific affidavit. Judges also preserved two of her claims against the Robert Morris Evangelistic Association: civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Why were most of the claims dismissed? The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas cited the ecclesiastical abstention legal doctrine as a basis for its decisions. Clemishire’s dismissed defamation claims arose from internal church communications about her statements on the abuse. The court stated that the doctrine, which comes from previous legal interpretations of the First Amendment, prevented courts from probing into a church’s internal matters and governance.

What’s the background of the case? Clemishire in 2024 accused Morris of sexually abusing her several times, beginning when she was 12 years old. Morris resigned from the church, pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, and served six months in prison. He also was required to pay a restitution fine to Clemishire. He remains on probation for roughly nine more years.