Judge orders Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to submit to paternity test
A Dallas County judge ruled this week that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones must submit to paternity testing to determine if he is the biological father of North Texas woman.
WFAA reported the news on Friday.
A lawsuit had previously been filed against Jones by Alexandra Davis, 25, who has claimed that the Cowboys owner is her father. That original lawsuit had been filed in March but was later dismissed. However, Davis filed again asking for the paternity test.
In the original lawsuit, Davis sued Jones on March 3, saying he is her biological father, according to court documents. The lawsuit alleges that Alexandra Davis’ mother, Cynthia Davis, had a relationship with Jones in the mid-90s, leading to her birth, and Cynthia Davis reached a financial settlement with Jones to support her and her child as long as they didn’t publicly identify Jones as the father.
WFAA reported that Davis’ attorney, Andrew Bergman, said Davis filed a new lawsuit to establish parentage that would “compel Mr. Jones to submit to DNA testing in order to prove that Mr. Jones is her father.”
The newest development involving the paternity test was argued in Dallas County court on Thursday.
The Dallas Morning News has reported the Jones’ legal team has already appealed the ruling.
Jones, who is 80, has owned the Dallas Cowboys since 1989, when he bought the franchise for $140 million. While the Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1996, Forbes lists the team as one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world.
Associate Judge T. Jones Abendroth wrote that “after careful consideration” she would grant Davis’ motion to have Jones undergo genetic testing.
The 80-year-old Jones and his wife, Gene, were married in 1963. They have three children, and all have front office roles with the Cowboys. Jerry Jones is the team president and general manager.
Jones’ attorneys had requested to have the case dismissed, arguing that the 192nd Judicial District court does not have jurisdiction over paternity issues.
In their plea document asking to dismiss the case, Jones’ lawyers Levi G. McCathern and Charles L. Babcock argued that Davis’ claims were “submersed in hypothetical and contingent scenarios that are not justiciable because they have not occurred.”
“This Court cannot assert jurisdiction over unripe claims and [Davis] cannot create it via her suit for declaratory relief,” Jones’ lawyers wrote in the filing. “Accordingly, this Court should dismiss [Davis’] claims with prejudice.”
Jones’ lawyers said Davis sent Jones a draft of her lawsuit before it was filed, and “asked whether he would like to ‘make a deal’ to ‘assure that he would not be publicly or privately identified and/or declared as [Davis’] father,’” the filing said.
Jones “declined to pay,” according to his lawyers, and the lawsuit was then filed.
Jones’ lawyers described Davis as having made “’let’s make a deal’ overtures.”
Their filing also denied all allegations made in Davis’ initial lawsuit against Jones.
According to Davis’ initial lawsuit, she asked to be recognized as Jones’ daughter and released from the confidentiality agreement that her mother agreed to on her behalf, and without her consent, as a baby.
The Star-Telegram sports editor Dave Ammenheuser used previously reported Star-Telegram stories, the Associated Press and a report from media partner WFAA in this story.
