Gateway Churchs Robert Morris Asks Court To Dismiss Lawsuit Over Money-Back Guarantee On Tithes

Disgraced Gateway Church founder Robert Morris joined with different leaders and public hobby law firm First Liberty Institute in asking a federal court docket to push apart a category motion lawsuit filed by four church contributors accusing the Southlake, Texas-primarily based fully megachurch of misallocating their tithes and failing to honor a money-aid command.

The lawsuit became as soon as filed in October 2024 by Gateway Church contributors Katherine Leach, Garry Okay. Leach, Imprint Browder and Terri Browder. In addition to Morris and Gateway Church, it also names as defendants Tom Lane, a ragged executive pastor of Gateway Church; founding elder Steve Dulin; and Kevin Grove, who beforehand served as an executive world pastor and elder at Gateway Church and a trustee of The King’s College.

The lawsuit stems primarily from allegations that Gateway Church refused to be clear concerning the ministry’s funds because it has generated over $100 million in annual income in past years.

They focal point namely on the church’s International Ministries fund, to which its leaders promised to allocate 15% of tithes smooth. Additionally they contend that in spite of repeated promises from Morris and different leaders that congregants would win money aid of their tithes if they weren’t contented with the outcomes of their donations, Gateway Church leaders refused to honor that promise.

In a motion asking the U.S. District Courtroom for the Eastern District of Texas to push apart the lawsuit filed on Feb. 18, Morris’ attorneys raised similar arguments raised by different defendants asking the court docket to push apart the lawsuit.

The attorneys, William B. Mateja, Elisha J. Kobre, and Jason C. Hoggan of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP argue that the court docket lacks cloth jurisdiction as a result of the “dwelling remark exception” in the Class Action Equity Act. The exception permits a federal court docket to decline jurisdiction over a category motion lawsuit if a amount of the plaintiffs are residents of the a similar remark the assign the lawsuit became as soon as filed.

Additionally they argue that the court docket lacks jurisdiction over the lawsuit since the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine bars consideration of the claims as a result of it would “require the Courtroom to tread upon issues of spiritual doctrine and within church governance.”

Morris’s attorneys asked the court docket to push apart the lawsuit as a result of it failed the exacting pleading requirements of Rule 9(b) of the Federal Principles of Civil Job. The motion states church contributors might maybe maybe no longer remark a viable affirm below Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Principles of Civil Job. The lawyers affirm the criticism “(1) fails to lisp any cloth misstatement upon which Plaintiffs reasonably relied; and (2) alleges conduct exterior the statute of limitations.”

Allegations of contract breach and conspiracy to breach contract might maybe maybe merely accrued even be disregarded, Morris’ attorneys argue, since the church contributors’ criticism fails to lisp an enforceable contract. They show that conspiracy to breach a contract is no longer a viable affirm below Texas law, and the alleged conduct came about exterior the statute of limitations.

“Moreover, Mr. Morris joins Defendant Lane’ [sic] motion to push apart this affirm as a result of (4) Plaintiffs maintain failed to lisp any privity of contract between themselves and Mr. Morris,” the attorneys argue.

Morris, who based Gateway Church in 2000, resigned in June 2024 amid an allegation he sexually abused a baby for years in the Eighties, initiating assign when she became as soon as 12 years old. 

Morris’ announcement of a money-aid command came for the length of a sermon at Willow Creek Community Church in the suburban Chicago space about “The Precept of First” to succor increase falling revenues that the church had been experiencing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I fabricate no longer maintain to magnify, but I am obvious hundreds and hundreds of of us, and I am obvious or no longer it is multiplied, that maintain told me some capability through the years through e-mail, letters, whatever, ‘this changed my life,'” Morris acknowledged, as seen in a YouTube clip from his message on tithing the foremost 10% of one’s earnings.

“Once I started giving the foremost 10% to God, it changed the whole lot. And this is what I would maintain to attain. I would maintain to staunch exclaim you. I’ve performed this with our church. I’ve told our church on a few events, I’ve acknowledged to them, ought to you will strive it for 365 days, ought to you is possible to be no longer fully contented, at the discontinue of that year, I could give you you money aid,” Morris acknowledged. “With 22 years in the church, no one’s ever asked for his or her money aid.”

Per the plaintiffs, many Gateway Church contributors maintain asked for money aid of their tithes, but the church leaders maintain neglected their requests.

“This commentary became as soon as repeated by Tom Lane, and different defendants knew that the representation became as soon as spurious and made with the intention of inducing congregants to give money. Many people, maintain requested refund of their tithes most provocative to be stonewalled and neglected by the defendants,” the lawsuit alleges.

“Essentially, Plaintiff Katherine Leach has publicly and straight away delivered a assign a query to letter to Gateway for the return of her tithes pursuant to Gateway’s ‘money aid command.’ Gateway has no longer spoke back. This provide by Robert Morris and Tom Lane, made with the fat knowledge and consent of different defendants, created a contract below Texas law the assign a promise became as soon as made for consideration and that promise became as soon as no longer fulfilled,” it argues.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs maintain requested and were granted earlier this month an extension of time to file a response to Morris’ motion to push apart the church contributors’ lawsuit until March 25, per court docket documents reviewed by The Christian Put up.

In response to a motion filed by Lane to push apart the lawsuit, attorneys for the church contributors argued in January that the First Amendment’s Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine does no longer bar their claims for aid as argued by the defendants.

“The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does no longer bar Plaintiffs’ claims in opposition to Defendant or the Church since the claims lift no exclaim as to theological doctrine, spiritual or actual instructing, or within church governance,” they show.

“Slightly, Plaintiffs grab exclaim with misrepresentations by the Church and its elders of their solicitation of tithing funds, a controversy for civil and secular diagnosis that took place to be dedicated by church officials. … The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does no longer defend church pastors and leaders from committing fraud and different torts. Plaintiffs’ claims permit for the Courtroom to distinguish between the spiritual teachings in the aid of tithing and the Church’s fraudulent misrepresentations to induce donations from congregants.”

The church contributors conceded, nonetheless, that they did no longer enter staunch into a contract with Lane or Grove but would “continue to pursue this affirm, besides to the others, in opposition to Defendants Gateway Church and Robert Morris and might maybe maybe merely accrued continue to pursue their fraud and conspiracy claims in opposition to Defendants Lane and Grove.”

In an amicus curiae in make stronger of Gateway Church’s motion to push apart the lawsuit, attorneys for the First Liberty Institute, which provides legit bono upright representation to people and establishments of all faiths on spiritual freedom issues, argue that if the case is no longer disregarded and is allowed to proceed, spiritual freedom would suffer.

“First Liberty … has a right hobby in the discontinue consequence of this litigation, as a result of this can maintain a truly significant precedential halt on the spiritual exercise of homes of affection. If courts are free to parse sermons to search out out whether the pastor might maybe maybe merely maintain old language creating an implied contract, pastors might maybe maybe no longer have the selection to part their spiritual convictions freely with out risking upright reprisal,” the law firm wrote.

“Such an final consequence would chill core spiritual exercise and would be devastating to so much of First Liberty’s purchasers and to non secular freedom in standard.”

Offer:www.christianpost.com