A state appeals court on Thursday ordered the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit against Southlake-based Gateway Church and former members of its leadership, according to court documents.
Justices of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas based their ruling on a First Amendment doctrine that holds that civil courts do not have authority over internal church matters. The ruling reverses a previous decision by Dallas County District Judge Emily Tobolowsky.
The suit, filed last year by Cindy Clemishire and her father, claimed that Gateway Church’s founder Robert Morris and other church leaders defamed Clemishire in an internal statement to staff…