Gateway Church Wins Tithing Lawsuit Dismissal As Judge Cites First Amendment
A federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit accusing Texas megachurch Gateway Church and former senior pastor Robert Morris of misrepresenting tithing expenditures, marking a significant legal victory for the scandal-plagued congregation.
On June 23, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas ruled the First Amendment’s ecclesiastical abstention doctrine bars courts from adjudicating internal church disputes.
The ruling dismissed all claims brought by plaintiffs Katherine and Garry Leach and Mark and Terri Browder. They alleged Gateway leaders promised that portions of church tithes would support missions and Jewish ministries but diverted funds elsewhere.
Mazzant granted Gateway’s motion to dismiss and granted a similar motion that Morris made. The court dismissed plaintiffs’ various claims — involving fraud, breach-of-contract and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — then ordered the case closed.
The lawsuit had alleged that Gateway leaders had, through sermons, conferences, church materials and the church website, declared that 15% of tithe dollars would support global missions and “Jewish ministry” partners. Plaintiffs contended those representations induced them to donate.
According to the complaint, other church members also claimed Gateway promised dissatisfied donors could receive refunds of their tithes. The plaintiffs said the church later refused those requests.
Gateway argued the claims would require judicial review of religious decisions concerning tithing and church governance, matters protected from government involvement by the First Amendment.
Mazzant agreed.
“The First Amendment prohibits such an assault on Gateway’s religious autonomy and freedom,” said the church’s attorney Ron Breaux, a partner at Haynes Boone, a Dallas-based law firm.
“We are grateful that the United States District Court has dismissed all claims against Gateway,” Breaux said. “Plaintiffs sought to second-guess Gateway’s beliefs and decisions on the fundamental religious question of tithing. The First Amendment prohibits such an assault on Gateway’s religious autonomy and freedom. The District Court rightly recognized that resolving the plaintiffs’ claims would require the court to conduct an inquiry into matters that are essential to Gateway’s central mission, and it properly dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims.”
The judge relied heavily on the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2025 decision in McRaney v. North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The court broadly reaffirmed protections for religious institutions against judicial interference in ecclesiastical matters.
Mazzant noted he had previously denied an earlier request for dismissal because the original complaint appeared to focus on nonreligious conduct, including alleged financial irregularities and lack of transparency. He concluded, however, that a revised complaint centered on disputes over religiously motivated decisions regarding the allocation of church funds.
“At its core,” the judge wrote, the lawsuit amounted to an “internal church controversy.”
The court found that resolving the claims would require determining whether church expenditures properly qualified as “global missions,” “Jewish ministry partners,” “local, national, and international outreach efforts” or other charitable purposes. Such inquiries would necessarily involve questions of faith, doctrine and church governance, Mazzant said.
The opinion also emphasized that plaintiffs did not allege Morris, church officers or other leaders personally pocketed donated funds. Instead, the complaint alleged donations were redirected to unspecified “secret organizations” or other charitable purposes.
“Determining whether Gateway diverted money from ‘Global Missions and Jewish ministry partners’ and ‘local, national, and international outreach efforts,’ to unspecified ‘secret organizations’ or other ‘charitable purposes,’ would require the Court” to decide matters protected from judicial review, Mazzant wrote.
The ruling marks a rare positive development for Gateway, one of the nation’s largest nondenominational churches.
Located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Gateway has faced sustained scrutiny since June 2024. That’s when Morris resigned after allegations became public that decades before he sexually abused Cindy Clemishire when she was 12 years old. Morris later pleaded guilty in Oklahoma to abusing her and served six months in jail.
Since then, Gateway has confronted multiple lawsuits, leadership changes and declining attendance. The church has worked to stabilize operations under new leadership while addressing legal and financial challenges.
This article was originally published by The Roys Report.
Mark A. Kellner is a reporter based in Mesquite, Nevada. He most recently covered statewide elections for the New York Post and was for three years the Faith & Family Reporter for The Washington Times. Mark is a graduate of the University of the Cumberlands and also attended Boston University’s College of Communication.