A Dallas County judge has outlined the next steps in a $1 million defamation lawsuit filed by Cindy Clemishire against Gateway Church and former Pastor Robert Morris, who was convicted of sexually abusing her four decades ago when she was a child.
Judge Emily Tobolowsky scheduled hearings in October and November for attorneys to argue whether current and former church elders and staff should be dismissed from the suit and whether Clemishire’s legal team may proceed with discovery.
Multiple defendants involved
The defendants include Gateway Church; Robert and Debbie Morris; and current and former elders Thomas Miller, Tra Willbanks, Kevin Grove, Jeremy Carrasco, Kenneth Fambro, Gayland Lawshe, Dane Minor, and Steve Dulin. Lawrence Swicegood, who directed the church’s communications team, is also named in the suit.
So far, online court records show that neither the church nor Robert or Debbie Morris has filed a motion to be removed from the litigation…