An order was handed down by a federal judge Tuesday declaring what matters attorneys cannot discuss in front of the jury during this month’s trial for Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ countersuit against the woman who alleges he is her father.
Jones is suing 27-year-old Alexandra Davis and her mother, Cynthia Davis, for allegedly breaching an agreement the three entered in 1998 preventing them from “suing or supporting any suit to establish paternity” and to keep the settlement details confidential in exchange for millions of dollars for the younger Davis from “early childhood through adulthood.”
The countersuit says Jones abided by the agreement but the women did not.
Jury selection is scheduled for July 19 in Texarkana with the trial set to begin July 22. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III is presiding.
Attorneys for both parties submitted motions in June requesting certain phrases or matters not be discussed in front of the jury and argued their motions during a pretrial hearing last week.
“The judge played it right down the middle of the fairway,” Jones’ attorney Chip Babcock told The Dallas Morning News. “We were happy the case can be tried in this way and the judge is going to try and make it so it’s a fair trial for everybody.”
“I don’t have any disagreements,” Alexandra Davis’ attorney Jay Gray said. “I think the rulings were fair.”
Some of the motions granted as requested by Jones include not referring to the 1998 settlement agreement as “hush money” and not allowing any testimony or reference to “other alleged children, other alleged settlement agreements, or other alleged character evidence about plaintiff and his family.”
A majority of the Davises’ requests were granted or granted in part. For example, Davis’ initial defamation lawsuit against Jones may be discussed, but “substantive details” aren’t relevant, so attorneys must speak with the judge outside of the presence of the jury before referencing any defamation claims. Attorneys must also talk with the judge before discussing any “alleged threat or desire by the defendants to breach the contract.”
Schroeder also ruled multiple documents could be sealed, making them unviewable to the public.
Defamation suit turned counterclaim
This lawsuit stems from Alexandra Davis filing a defamation lawsuit against billionaire Jones and three other defendants in March 2023, accusing them of executing a “false and purposeful character assassination attack” after she sued him to establish paternity a year earlier.
An attorney for Jones said at the time that the allegations were false and had no merit.
Davis’ lawsuit was partially dismissed in October, refiled in November then dismissed again in March, prompting the judge to realign the parties to make Jones the plaintiff and Davis and her mother the defendants since Jones’ countersuit against them was the sole remaining case in the series of lawsuits.
Davis’ attorneys previously told The News they intend to appeal the March dismissal. The judge or a jury must rule on the case before Davis’ attorneys can file the appeal.
