Dallas Cowboys owner settles suit with woman claiming to be his daughter
David Lee
TEXARKANA, Texas (CN) — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones abruptly settled his $1.6 million breach of contract federal lawsuit Tuesday against a woman claiming to be his daughter on the second day of trial.
Jones, 81, and Alexandra Davis, 27, agreed to abide by the terms of their original settlement and confidentiality agreement signed in 1998 when she was two years old. Jones dropped his case in exchange for Davis' dismissal of her pending lawsuits against Jones. Jones will also not have to take a paternity test under the deal.
Jones has consistently denied he is the father and has repeatedly refused to take any paternity test. A married father of three, Jones had an affair with Cynthia Davis-Spencer almost 30 years ago.
Jones sought $1.6 million from her in Texarkana federal court for attorneys’ fees he spent defending himself in at least three lawsuits filed by Davis.
Under the settlement Jones paid Davis and Spencer-Davis millions of dollars over three decades in exchange for their pledge not to identify Jones as Davis’ father or sue him. Jones says the settlement was breached when Davis first sued him in Dallas County in 2022 seeking to get out of the agreement.
The first witness called Tuesday was Jones' personal attorney, Donald Jack, with the firm of Jack Nelson Jones in Little Rock, Arkansas. Jack testified that he negotiated the settlement on Jones' behalf. He said Jones never admitted him that he was the father — only that Davis-Spencer thought he was.
He testified he never heard his client ever say a mean thing about Davis or her mother and was only “caring and kind” when speaking about them.
Davis is represented by Jay Gray, with Bergman Gray in Dallas. The attorney raised during cross-examination that Jones agreed in the settlement to submit to medical testing whenever “the child’s mental or physical health” was at risk.
“Can you see how not being able to identify your father is bad for your mental health?” Gray asked Jack.
The witness pushed back on the line of questioning, stating the settlement spelled out the specific circumstances under which Jones submitting to such testing would be allowed. Jones’ attorneys in this case argue paternity testing doesn't meet the bar.
Jack told Gray he used to think highly of Davis and even wrote a letter of recommendation to the White House on her behalf, describing Davis as having “character and integrity beyond reproach.”
Jack also testified that Davis asked him and Jones for $20 million at a Dallas steakhouse in December 2017 — money Jones was not obligated to pay.
Gray says his client didn't pick the $20 million figure out of thin air: She heard an illegitimate child of Jones' son, Jerry Jones Jr., had received a similar amount.
During open arguments, Gray accused Jerry Jones of being a bad person who is bullying his daughter.
Jones is represented by Charles Babcock with Jackson Walker in Houston. Babcock asked Jack on Tuesday if ever Jones was a “vindictive bully” when speaking about Davis or Davis-Spencer, which Jack denied.
The Cowboys owner filed his current counterclaim for breach of contract in May 2023, seeking a declaration that the parties are still bound by the settlement agreement, which Jones says included a $375,000 payment to Davis-Spencer and established two trust funds for Davis.
In all, Jones claims Davis received 230 payments totaling approximately $1.9 million during her childhood, including $70,000 for a new Range Rover and $33,000 for a "sweet 16" birthday party.
After Davis turned 18 years old, Jones says he made 140 additional payments totaling approximately $1.2 million, including $270,000 for four years of tuition and expenses at Southern Methodist University and $24,000 for a post-graduation trip to Asia.
Since at least 2015, Jones has also paid for Davis' apartment rent, he says in his 15-page counterclaim, calculating that he's ponied up approximately $3.2 million to date.
It was at Davis' request that Jones continued to pay for expenses after she turned 18 years old in 2017, Babcock told jurors Monday: “Mr. Jones finally said, ‘Enough is enough.'"
U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder cited evidence that Davis requested money from Jones four times between 2017 and 2021 when he dismissed Davis' second attempt at a Texarkana federal defamation lawsuit. She filed that claim in response to Jones' comments that he was being "extorted" and "shaken down" by Davis in her initial lawsuit in Dallas. Davis dropped the first suit before a ruling was issued.
In February, Dallas County District Judge Sandra Jackson ordered Jones to take a paternity test. An appeal was pending before the end to all litigation between the parties occurred Tuesday.
Davis and Davis-Spencer appeared on the reality television show "Big Rich Texas" and Davis has since worked as a congressional staffer for U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson, a Republican in Amarillo.
Davis-Spencer testified Monday she was embarrassed about appearing on the “low budget” reality show. Asked about statements she made on the show indicating that men only care about money, she denied that was her belief. The lines were scripted, she testified, and she was taking shots of tequila when she recited them.
She also admitted under oath she denied having sex with anyone other than her husband during a divorce proceeding shortly after Davis’ birth, citing the stress of domestic abuse and becoming a single mother.
Davis-Spencer testified her daughter has tried to have a meeting with Jones her whole life, but he has refused. Gray told jurors his client was excited Monday to just be in the same room as her father, despite being sued by him.