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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones just scored a big win after agreeing to a settlement in the paternity lawsuit filed by Alexandra Davis, the woman who claimed to be his biological daughter.
By reaching a settlement in Davis’ lawsuit and his breach of contract countersuit, Jones avoided having to testify in court.
Jerry Jones had claimed in his lawsuit that Alexandra Davis and her mother Cynthia violated a contract they had with him that prevents them from “suing or supporting any suit to establish paternity.”
Davis first claimed publicly that Jerry Jones was her biological father in 2022. Jones was ordered to take a paternity test by a judge in February, the second time he has been ordered to do so after he appealed the first order by a judge to take the test.
The eagerly-anticipated trial was almost over before it began as halfway through the second day of proceedings Judge Robert W. Schroeder III declared all cases for both sides dropped with prejudice, meaning they can’t be filed in court again. This also means that Jones will not have to take the paternity test he has long avoided.
On Monday, Cynthia Davis-Spencer, the mother of 27-year-old Alexandra Davis, gave an emotional testimony and when she stepped down Jones reportedly gave her a long hug.
According to court documents, Jerry Jones had already paid Davis around $3 million “from early childhood through adulthood” with the agreement that they would “maintain confidentiality regarding the facts.”
Alexandra Davis, a congressional aide, claimed that the agreement did not apply to her since she was a minor when it was made. She also attempted to sue Jones, Jones’ former lawyer Don Jack, and Cowboys spokesperson Jim Wilkinson for falsely accused her of being an extortionist and a “shakedown artist.”
WFAA News reports that the contract initially signed between Jones and Alexandra Davis’ mother included monthly payments from until Davis turned 21, plus three lump-sum payments at the ages of 24, and 26 and 28. Davis turns 28 in December and will still receive that payment.
In addition to Jerry Jones avoiding having to testify thanks to the settlement, his sons Stephen Jones and Jerry Jones Jr., his daughter Charlotte Jones, and his wife Eugenia Jones, all of whom were listed as potential witnesses, also are now freed from doing so.
Just prior to the lunch break’s ending on Tuesday, Jones, Alexandra Davis and her mother Cynthia Davis — whom Jones embraced in a hug during a break in her Monday, trial-opening testimony — could be seen huddled and in discussion in the hallway outside the courtroom. According to Babcock, the three had lunch together earlier in the break, and the case was resolved shortly after that.
Jones refused to go into the details of what was discussed at that lunch, but said he has always had respect for the Davises, and that it was unfortunate that they got into this situation where they felt compelled to take legal action against him.
Following the dismissal of the lawsuits, Jerry Jones told the jury, “I believe my defendants here are well-meaning.”
Davis’ attorney Jay Gray said his client was satisfied with the outcome of the trial.
“I haven’t seen a smile that big on her face in a long time,” he said.