Megachurch Invokes The ‘Defend Trade Secrets Act’ To Keep Financial Information Secret in Class Action Lawsuit
Gateway Church has invoked the ‘Defend Trade Secrets Act’ to keep several church matters private and free from prying eyes, according to a new report from Trinity Fi.
Gateway is currently embroiled in several lawsuits after their founder, Robert Morris, was revealed to have molested a 12-year-old girl and that church elders covered it up. One of these lawsuits is a class-action lawsuit launched by several former and current members claiming that they were repeatedly and falsely promised by the congregation that 15% of their tithes would go towards missions—something they say never happened.
According to the Gateway Church protective order, obtained on May 10:
‘Confidential Information’ shall include, but shall not be limited to, information that concerns or relates to (1) sales, marketing, manufacturing, or research and development; (2) financial performance; (3) manufacturing or other costs of doing business; (4) licenses or other confidential agreements; (5) technical details of products or methods of doing business and/or marketing; and/or (6) personally identifiable information.
Gateway’s use of the ‘Defend Trade Secrets Act’ allows them to keep their financial information private from the plaintiffs and potentially sue them for ‘misappropriating’ them.
Pete Evans, the President of Trinity Fi, blasted the tactic, insisting “It’s pure insanity! Previous court cases have invalidated church trade secrets.”
