Legal proceedings in a defamation lawsuit involving Cindy Clemishire, a survivor of child-sex abuse, have been put on hold by Texas’ Fifth Court of Appeals. This pause affects the trial court actions against Gateway Church, its founder Robert Morris, and other church elders, awaiting the outcome of a petition for a mandamus review.
Justice Mike Lee of the Dallas Appeals Court issued an order last Friday to suspend all trial court activities between the church, its elders, and the Clemishires. He noted, “We GRANT relators’ motion to the extent that we STAY all proceedings in the trial court between relators Gateway Church, John D. (‘Tra’) Willbanks, III, Kenneth W. Fambro, II, and Dane Minor and real parties in interest Cindy Clemishire and Jerry Lee Clemishire, pending resolution of this original proceeding.” The order also urged a response to the mandamus petition by December 29, 2025.
A mandamus order is intended to compel an act by a lower court or governmental body to correct a previous action or inaction. The legal team for Gateway Church and its elders, including John D. “Tra” Willbanks, Kenneth W. Fambro II, and Dane Minor, sought the mandamus review after Judge Emily Tobolowsky of the Dallas County District Court declined to dismiss the Clemishires’ lawsuit. This decision referred to the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which keeps courts from involving themselves in religious matters.
On November 11, Judge Tobolowsky allowed limited discovery for the Clemishires to counter the church’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), which protects free speech. The appeals court was asked to overturn Tobolowsky’s ruling on limited discovery.
Ron Breaux, representing Gateway Church, stated, “We are pleased that the Court of Appeals has granted our request to stay the case against Gateway and the Independent elders while it considers our strong legal arguments. Gateway and its leaders simply do not belong in this lawsuit, which asks a secular court to pass judgment on the church’s statements and actions while investigating its former pastor’s misconduct.”
Morris, the church’s founder, pleaded guilty to abusing Clemishire over a period of 4.5 years starting when she was 12. He was sentenced to six months in prison and a 10-year suspended sentence in October in Oklahoma.
The Clemishires’ lawsuit seeks over $1 million in damages, accusing Morris and church officials of downplaying her abuse as a consensual “relationship” rather than acknowledging it as the sexual assault of a child. Prior to the appeals court ruling, Clemishire’s attorneys had argued that a stay in the court’s discovery should apply to the entire case.
Despite the church’s arguments, Clemishire’s representatives maintain that her claims do not interfere with church governance or doctrine, arguing that, “The Clemishires’ claims, at their core, constitute a simple allegation that Gateway and its leaders issued factual, defamatory statements about the Clemishires.”
The discovery, authorized by the trial court, is described as necessary and specific to evaluating the church’s knowledge of the abuse. One church leader, John D. Willbanks III, stated that some individuals were aware of Clemishire’s age and the accusations against Morris, yet failed to act accordingly.
The discovery process aims to address inconsistencies regarding public statements made by the church and its leaders.
This article was originally written by www.christianpost.com
