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A Dallas County judge ruled Tuesday that a defamation lawsuit<\/a> filed against Gateway Church and ex-pastor Robert Morris may continue, according to court documents.<\/p>\n Gateway\u2019s attorneys argued for the case\u2019s dismissal<\/a> under a legal principle known as the \u201cecclesiastical abstention doctrine,\u201d saying that the suit deals with religious matters.<\/p>\n Under that doctrine, civil courts are prohibited from weighing in on a dispute that is \u201cstrictly and purely ecclesiastical in its character,\u201d according to the Cardozo Law Review<\/a><\/p>\n In the lawsuit, sexual abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire and her father allege that Morris and others involved with the North Texas megachurch made millions from concealing and mischaracterizing his abuse of Clemishire, beginning when she was 12 years old in the 1980s. Clemishire\u2019s suit alleges that church officials defamed her in statements after she spoke publicly about the abuse last year, including a June 2024 statement in which Morris characterized it as \u201cinappropriate sexual behavior\u201d with a \u201cyoung lady.\u201d<\/p>\n Morris pleaded guilty in an Oklahoma criminal court<\/a> in September to five felony counts related to that abuse.<\/p>\n For those charges, Morris is currently serving a six-month jail sentence, and will serve nine and a half years of probation after his release.<\/p>\n Dallas County 298th District Court Judge Emily Tobolowsky also denied motions to dismiss the lawsuit from church elders Tra Willbanks, Kenneth Fambro, Gayland Lawshe and Dane Minor, according to court records.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 More top stories from our newsroom:<\/b><\/p>\n \u2192 Off-duty cop drove over 100 mph on motorcycle: warrant<\/a><\/p>\n \u2192 These candles made in North Texas fight sex trafficking in a \u2018really dark world\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n \u2192 Parents of 15 girls who died in Texas flood sue Camp Mystic<\/a><\/p>\n \u2192 After suffering tragic death, former Star-Telegram sportswriter leaves gifts <\/a><\/p>\n [Get our breaking news alerts.<\/a><\/b>]<\/p>\n \u201cWe are grateful the judge followed the law<\/a> and wasn\u2019t distracted by false narratives peddled by the defense,\u201d an attorney for Clemishire, Alex Yaffe, told KERA News. \u201cWe will press forward and conduct the discovery the judge has ordered and remain confident in our case.\u201d<\/p>\n Clemishire\u2019s attorneys have argued that the church\u2019s statements were not religious but were secular crisis communications.<\/p>\n The defamation suit is set for trial next summer.<\/p>\n Morris still has two other cases pending: In Tarrant County court, Morris\u2019 attorneys are asking a judge to force arbitration<\/a> in a dispute with Gateway over the former pastor\u2019s retirement pay.<\/p>\n