Lawyers for Robert Morris, the former lead pastor of Southlake’s Gateway Church, have asked a Tarrant County court to compel the church to arbitrate a dispute over his retirement pay, according to court records.
Morris’ attorneys argue that Gateway leaders were aware of Morris’ “highly inappropriate relationship” with Cindy Clemishire, who was 12 years old when Morris allegedly began sexually abusing her in the 1980s, according to court documents the lawyers filed on Friday. Gateway Church, Morris’ lawyers claim, is using the Clemishire case to avoid honoring financial commitments it made to the former pastor.
“While Morris is certainly deserving of the victim’s punches, Morris is tired of being the punching bag of Gateway’s current leadership as it tries to play its game of blame-shifting,” Morris’ attorney Bill Mateja told the Star-Telegram in a statement. “Our filings demonstrate that Morris was fully transparent with Gateway’s leadership – full stop.”…