Southlake-based Gateway Church and its founding pastor Robert Morris have agreed to dismiss a civil lawsuit over whether Morris should get millions as part of his retirement after allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced, court documents show.
It's not clear if Morris will get any payout from the megachurch. KERA News reached out to attorneys for Gateway and Morris and will update this story with any response.
It comes after Morris, 64, was released from Osage County Jail March 31 after serving six months. He pleaded guilty to five counts of lewd or indecent acts to a child last October after Cindy Clemishire revealed in June 2024 Morris had sexually abused her in the 1980s.
Clemishire said she was 12 years old and he was 22 when the abuse started and it lasted more than four years.
The civil suit, filed by Gateway last May, claimed Morris was “laser focused” on securing his retirement payout after he resigned from the church when Clemishire came forward about the abuse.
Morris’ lawyers met with Gateway less than two months after he resigned to request “financial commitments” from the church and sent a letter demanding his payment a month later, according to court records.
Gateway claimed Morris asked for $1 million upfront, then $800,000 a year until he turns 70, followed by $600,000 a year for the rest of his and his wife’s lives.
The church and Morris previously failed to resolve the matter through mediation and were attempting to agree on an arbitrator to help settle the case. Arbitration is a process in which a third party helps resolve a dispute between two or more groups.
Meanwhile, Morris still faces another civil lawsuit from Clemishire and her father. That suit claims Morris, his wife, Gateway and its former and current elders defamed her when she brought the abuse claims to light. The suit also claims church staff knew about the abuse for years, helped cover it up and finally benefitted from it.
A trial for that suit is set for June.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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