Dallas County Judge Emily Tobolowsky heard from former Senior Pastor Robert Morris’s counsel Tuesday morning on his motion to clarify and stay.
Morris’s lead lawyer, Bill Mateja of Sheppard, informed Judge Tobolowsky that the parties had reached an agreement in a hearing that lasted less than 10 minutes. The agreement clarifies that the court denied Morris’ motion to dismiss based on the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.
“We’ve gotten kicked out of the court of appeals three different times because it’s not as clear to them as I think it is to you. And so this order will make sure that it’s perfectly clear so that we can proceed with our mandamus,” Mateja said.
He added that it would be consolidated with Gateway church and the independent elders’ appeals, which are already pending before the Fifth Court of Appeals.
“I’m glad you all were able to come to an agreement, and we’ll see what the court of appeals now says,” Judge Tobolowsky said.
Morris resigned from his position as senior pastor of Gateway Church following allegations made by Cindy Clemishire that he sexually abused her from 1982 to 1987.
She claimed that Morris, who was a family friend and at the time a 22-year-old traveling pastor, began the abuse when she was 12 years old. Morris pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse charges in October 2025. He is being held in a jail in Osage County, Oklahoma.
The allegations led to a flurry of litigation in multiple courts in Texas.
Richard Hardy, Meghan Mitchell, Joshua Conaway and Jodee Rankin of Fadduol, Cluff, Hardy & Conaway, and S. Alex Yaffe and Eric Cavett of Foshee & Yaffe are representing Cindy Clemishire and Jerry Clemishire.
The case is Cindy Clemishire, et al. v. Gateway Church, et al., DC-25-09684.