Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, abruptly ended his paternity trial on Tuesday. Not everything about the outcome was readily apparent. It happened on the second day of a trial that was scheduled to last a week in a federal court in Texarkana. Furthermore, Jones was scheduled to testify on the day it occurred.
Jones was filing a countersuit against a mother and daughter for allegedly breaching the terms of a paternity settlement the mother had made in 1998.
It had been forbidden for 27-year-old Alexandra Davis and her mother Cynthia Davis to “file or support any lawsuit” in order to prove paternity and maintain the confidentiality of the settlement terms.
Shortly after lunch on Tuesday, Judge Robert W. Schroeder III declared that the case had been dismissed, along with any related matters, with the understanding that the central contract would remain in effect.
Court documents show that since Jones was a young child, he has already paid Davis more than $3 million.
Following the judge’s dismissal of the younger Davis’s defamation complaint, Jones, 81, filed the countersuit.
Alexandra Davis had requested an additional $20 million from Jones, according to court documents. Cynthia Davis’s emotional outburst at the stand on the first day of the opening was followed by the resolution the next day.
She cried as she described how her daughter had requested Jones to meet with her “for 15 minutes” on several occasions over “her entire life.” The jury was led out, the judge announced a little break, and Jones and Cynthia Davis hugged for a while.
Jones and Cynthia Davis expressed their satisfaction with the agreements and their relief at moving past this. Jones stated to CBS News Texas that his current priorities are getting to training camp in Oxnard, California.
Jones claims that the terms of the deal with Davis-Spencer included accommodation, a flat sum payment of $375,000, and reimbursement for any medical costs Jones incurred both before and after her pregnancy.
According to the lawsuit, Jones also created two trusts for Davis’ “care and benefit” until she was 21.
Jones says that up until Davis turned eighteen, he sent her 230 installments totaling around $1.9 million, which included $33,714 for a Sweet 16 birthday celebration and $70,457 for a new Range Rover.
Jones asserts that between the time Davis was 18 until the filing of her complaint in 2022, he gave her 140 payments totaling $1.2 million. The lawsuit claims that the plaintiff received roughly $18,000 for a trip to Paris, France; $270,000 for Southern Methodist University’s four full years of undergraduate tuition and expenses; $6,500 for a college graduation celebration; and $24,000 for a post-college graduation trip to Hong Kong, China, and Japan, among other things.
According to the lawsuit, Jones has already given Davis over $3 million.
This week, the Cowboys kick off training camp in Oxnard. This Thursday is the team’s first practice. On Saturday, Jones is scheduled to hold his yearly press conference at the training camp.