Panel: Ecclesiastical Abstention Ends Much of Gateway Church, Robert Morris Litigation

In two opinions issued Wednesday, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas determined that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine means nearly all claims in a defamation lawsuit against Robert Morris, Gateway Church and three of its elders cannot proceed. 

The court concluded that the doctrine — which, in essence, bars civil courts from deciding cases that call into question a church’s doctrine, internal decisions and governance — applied to completely end Cindy Clemishire’s claims against Gateway Church and its elders.