A Dallas appeals court has sided with Gateway Church in a defamation lawsuit filed by Cindy Clemishire, the woman who publicly accused former megachurch pastor Robert Morris of sexually abusing her as a child.
The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas ruled that most claims in the suit must be dismissed under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, a legal principle that bars civil courts from intervening in a church’s internal religious affairs.
Justice Mike Lee wrote in the opinion that investigations into the character and conduct of church leaders are inherently ecclesiastical in nature. The court found that communications stemming from Gateway Church’s internal investigation of Morris also fall under that same protection.
The ruling leaned heavily on a 2021 Texas Supreme Court decision involving the Catholic Diocese of Lubbock, which established that civil courts cannot scrutinize certain aspects of how religious organizations investigate and discipline their clergy.
However, the court did allow one narrow claim against Morris to survive. That claim is tied to a May 30, 2025 affidavit that the court determined was not connected to Gateway Church’s internal inquiry.
Morris pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges and served time in jail before being released in March 2026. Clemishire filed the defamation suit after going public with her accusations in 2024 and alleging that comments made in response to her disclosures damaged her reputation.
Her attorney Jeff Leach, who also serves as a Texas state lawmaker, sharply criticized the ruling. He argued it effectively grants religious institutions broad immunity from civil accountability in cases involving the concealment or enabling of child sexual abuse simply because those actions took place within a church setting.
Leach stated that religious liberty was never intended to shield institutions from accountability when children are harmed. He said he plans to continue fighting the case.
Morris’ attorney Bill Mateja called the ruling correct and said the lawsuit was an attempt to drag a church’s internal process into a courtroom where it does not belong. He acknowledged the surviving claim tied to the 2025 affidavit and said his team would continue contesting it.
Gateway Church attorney Ron Breaux said the church was pleased with the outcome. He said the current church leadership had no knowledge of Morris’ abuse until Clemishire came forward and that the statements at issue were made as the church worked to guide its congregation through the fallout.
Clemishire’s legal team is expected to challenge the ruling as the case moves forward on the remaining claim against Morris.
