Attorneys for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones asked a judge Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him in Dallas County by a woman who alleges that he is her biological father. Court documents say the lawsuit was filed when Jones and the NFL team were facing “monetary extortion attempts” and alleges the lawsuit is one of them.
In Monday’s court filing, Jones’ lawyers say 25-year-old Alexandra Davis delivered a draft of the lawsuit to Jones and offered to “make a deal” to “assure that he would not be publicly or privately identified” as her father. The court filing did not say when that occurred.
The lawsuit was filed after Jones declined to pay, the court filing said. The filing said Davis and her lawyers “will be the subject of other litigation which has been filed or will be instituted shortly.”
“She is not entitled to the relief she requests, and the Court does not have jurisdiction to grant it,” the filing says.
Jones’ lawyers said the lawsuit is hypothetical about what could happen if Davis were to attempt to establish that she was his daughter. The lawsuit, the filing said, asks a judge “to adjudicate what her defenses might be if someone were to bring a lawsuit for breach of an agreement if she at some point filed a parentage action.”
Jones’ court filing does not address whether Davis is Jones’ daughter.
At the NFL Annual Meeting on Monday, Jones told reporters that the lawsuit, filed March 3 in Dallas County, was a personal matter. His spokesman declined to answer questions Monday. Lawyers for Jones and Davis could not be reached for comment.
In the lawsuit, Davis says that Jones and her mother, Cynthia Davis, had a relationship in the mid-1990s that resulted in her birth. It also says that Jones and Davis’ mother agreed to a settlement for Jones to financially support them as long as they did not publicly disclose he was the father.
Alexandra Davis’ lawsuit alleges that a lump-sum payment of $375,000 was paid to Cynthia Davis once the settlement was executed, and two trusts were set up and funded by Jones for Alexandra Davis. Alexandra Davis was to receive “certain monthly, annual and special funding” from the trusts until she turned 21, and yearly lump sums when she turned 24, 26 and 28.
The lawsuit said the agreement states that if Cynthia Davis or anyone on behalf of Alexandra Davis were to bring a legal proceeding to establish paternity, then Jones could end the agreement and the funding of the trusts.
The lawsuit says Cynthia Davis was subpoenaed to give a deposition in the divorce proceedings of Jones’ daughter, Charlotte Jones Anderson, and alleges Cynthia Davis was contacted by at least one person associated with Jones regarding that deposition.
Alexandra Davis works for U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, an Amarillo Republican, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Cynthia and Alexandra Davis starred in the third and final season of Big Rich Texas, a reality show based in Dallas-Fort Worth that followed five wealthy women and their daughters. At the time, representatives for Cynthia Davis said she was living off a trust fund.
On Monday, ESPN reported that a March 10 demand letter from Charles Babcock, one of Jones’ lawyers, connects Davis’ lawsuit against Jones to the divorce proceedings.
ESPN reported that the letter advises David “Shy” Anderson to save documents and other evidence, including any communication with Alexandra and Cynthia Davis, “all efforts to obtain monies from Mr. Jones directly or indirectly” and “all efforts to obtain information you and/or your counsel consider embarrassing to Mr. Jones.”
Anderson’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit was temporarily sealed ahead of a hearing set for Thursday to determine whether the lawsuit should remain sealed.
The filing also says that the lawsuit was filed in the wrong court. Jones’ attorneys say that due to her parentage allegations, the lawsuit should be filed in family court rather than civil court.
