Gateway Church and Robert Morris agree to end multi-million retirement lawsuit
The Gateway Church and its founding pastor, Robert Morris, have agreed to end a nearly year-long legal fight over a multi-million dollar retirement package Morris says he was owed.
The settlement filed Friday in Tarrant County comes less than two months after the former Gateway Church pastor finished a six-month sentence in the Osage County Jail on charges of child sexual abuse.
There was no indication in Friday's filing whether Morris and his wife Debbie would receive any compensation from the Southlake-based church.
CBS News Texas reached out to Gateway and an attorney for Morris for comment but did not hear back Monday night.
Oklahoma criminal case
The Oklahoma criminal charges against Morris were filed after he was accused of abuse by Cindy Clemishire, a then 12-year-old girl the pastor had been accused of fondling, starting in the 1980s.
In the Tarrant County filing, both sides agreed to dismiss the proceedings without prejudice and to each cover the expenses that were incurred.
Morris filed a suit in May 2025 demanding millions of dollars in payments and retirement benefits after his resignation from the church in 2024.
Retirement dispute
In court documents, Morris' attorneys argued he was owed more than $1 million in his retirement account and that church elders had verbally promised him a retirement benefit of $800,000 per year until he turns 70 and $600,000 per year for as long as he or his wife lives.
For its part, the church pushed back on the demand in a May 2025 court filing, saying "amid the chaos … his conduct had unleashed on Gateway and his community, Morris was laser-focused on securing his financial future."
Legal challenges continue
The church and Morris remain involved in three other legal cases.
Clemishire, along with her father, filed a $1 million defamation suit in Dallas County against Morris, his wife, Debbie, the church, its current and former elders and a church staff member. That case is currently under review at the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas.
In federal court, the church is facing a lawsuit from its insurance company and a class-action suit by former members that accused the church of missing millions in donations. The church has denied the allegations.
