Gateway Church and its embattled founder, Robert Morris, have secured a major courtroom victory after a federal judge dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the church of misleading donors over how millions of dollars in tithes were spent.
The lawsuit, which sought more than $100 million in damages, alleged that Gateway Church had promised to dedicate 15% of tithes to global missions and Jewish ministries but instead redirected some of those funds while refusing to refund dissatisfied donors.
On June 23, U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant dismissed the case, ruling that the First Amendment's church autonomy protections prevent civil courts from deciding disputes that require them to evaluate internal church decisions.
In his opinion, Mazzant concluded that determining whether Gateway had properly spent donated tithes would require the court to resolve ecclesiastical questions beyond its constitutional authority.
The judge's decision relied heavily on the recent Fifth Circuit ruling in McRaney v. North American Mission Board (NAMB), which broadened the scope of the church autonomy doctrine. That appellate decision held that civil courts cannot adjudicate disputes involving internal church governance or ministry decisions, even when plaintiffs frame their claims as civil or financial matters.
Mazzant acknowledged that he had previously allowed the Gateway lawsuit to proceed because he initially believed the claims involved non-religious conduct. However, after the Fifth Circuit issued its expanded opinion in the McRaney case, he said dismissal had become unavoidable.
The plaintiffs-Katherine and Garry Leach and Mark and Terri Browder-claimed Gateway leaders falsely represented how donor money would be used and later ignored requests for refunds. They later expanded their complaint to include allegations under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, arguing the church used interstate communications to further an alleged fraudulent fundraising scheme.
However, the judge noted an important distinction in the plaintiffs' allegations: they never claimed that Morris, church leaders, or other defendants personally pocketed donated funds. Instead, the complaint alleged that money was redirected to unspecified organizations while Gateway maintained the funds were used for its broader charitable ministries.
The ruling marks another significant legal development for Gateway Church as it continues to recover from one of the biggest scandals in American evangelicalism.
Robert Morris resigned as Gateway's founding pastor in June 2024 after Cindy Clemishire publicly accused him of sexually abusing her repeatedly in the 1980s when she was 12 years old. Morris later pleaded guilty to five felony counts of child sexual abuse in Oklahoma in 2025. He was sentenced to a 10-year prison term, with all but six months suspended, ordered to register as a lifetime sex offender, and required to pay Clemishire $270,000 in restitution.
Although the tithing lawsuit has now been dismissed, Gateway Church and Morris continue to face ongoing scrutiny and additional legal challenges stemming from the fallout of the abuse scandal, including a pending defamation lawsuit filed by Clemishire seeking more than $1 million in damages.
