DALLAS — A lawyer who helped make payments on behalf of Jerry Jones to a woman who claims he is her biological father says that millions of dollars were paid to her and her mother and alleges that she demanded an additional $20 million from Jones several years ago.
According to a lawsuit filed March 3, Jones had his friend and lawyer Donald Jack act on his behalf to help carry out an agreement after Jones had a relationship with a woman named Cynthia Davis in the mid-1990s that resulted in the birth of Alexandra Davis.
Alexandra Davis is now 25 years old and works for U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson, an Amarillo Republican.
Jones and Cynthia Davis worked out a “deal” stating that Jones would provide financial support for Alexandra Davis and her mother as long as they did not publicly reveal that he was Alexandra Davis’ father, court documents said. Breaching the deal would result in financial support being cut off and Jones or Jack would sue.
Lawyers for Alexandra Davis have previously said was not motivated by “fame or fortune” when they filed the lawsuit, but she is instead asking a court to find that she is not legally bound to an agreement that her mother and Jones made when she was a child.
Jack said in a statement that in addition to an initial $375,000 that was paid to Alexandra Davis’ mother, the agreement said Jones would provide monthly payments for child support that totaled more than $2 million. The Davises received additional payments, including the full cost of Alexandra Davis’ education at Southern Methodist University, that totaled about $1 million more, Jack said.
According to an ESPN report, additional expenses included $33,000 for Davis’ “Sweet 16″ birthday party, which was featured on a reality show called "Big Rich Texas," $70,000 for a Range Rover, a $24,000 trip after she graduated from college and $25,000 for Davis and her mother to take a Christmas vacation in Paris.
Alexandra Davis has received “certain monthly, annual and special funding” from the trusts over the last 25 years, according to the lawsuit. She is due to receive lump sums at age 26 and 28.
Jack also said that both Cynthia and Alexandra Davis met him at a restaurant in Dallas a few years ago to ask for more money.
“In that meeting, Alex read to me a personal letter she had drafted to Jerry Jones in which she expressed her dissatisfaction with what she had received and sought $20 million,” Jack said. “She stated that if this amount was paid, she would not bother Mr. Jones again and would keep their relationship confidential.”
Alexandra Davis’ attorneys said they demanded proof of the alleged letter.
Jim Wilkinson, a personal spokesman for Jones, said Jack is working on an affidavit swearing to the accuracy of the dinner. Wilkinson also said the meeting proved that money was the “ultimate goal” for the filing of the lawsuit.
Another letter written by one of Jones’ lawyers was sent to David “Shy” Anderson, Jones’ son-in-law, on March 10 that links the lawsuit to Anderson’s divorce proceedings from Jones’ daughter, Charlotte Jones Anderson.
The letter advises Anderson to save evidence “to determine whether a conspiracy exists among yourself and others including, without limitation, certain of your lawyers.”
That documentation includes any communication with Alexandra and Cynthia Davis, “all efforts to obtain monies from Mr. Jones directly or indirectly” and “all efforts to obtain information you and/or your counsel consider embarrassing to Mr. Jones,” the letter said.
Alexandra Davis’ lawyers said in a statement Wednesday that she has not been in contact with Anderson and that the attempt to link the lawsuit to the divorce proceedings is “distasteful.”
But Wilkinson said he believes the lawsuit and the preservation letter show there have been multiple attempts to take money from Jones.
“Sadly this is just one example of a more broad calculated and concerted effort that has been going on for some time by multiple people with various different agendas,” Wilkinson said. “The recent public attacks that the world has seen are the clear result of this coordination, and these efforts amount to nothing more than a simple and clear effort to shake down the Jones family for money.”
Davis’ lawsuit was temporarily sealed by a judge shortly after it was filed but has since been unsealed.
On Monday, Jones’ lawyers alleged in a court filing that Alexandra Davis’ lawsuit was one of many “monetary extortion attempts” at Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. The lawsuit was filed after Jones declined to pay, the court filing said.
Alexandra Davis’ lawyers said in separate statements Tuesday and Wednesday that they deny the extortion allegations.
“The most interesting thing to us about the document Mr. Jones filed is that he did not specifically deny that Alexandra is his daughter but, instead, maliciously accuses his own daughter of extortion,” attorney Andrew Bergman said.
Wilkinson declined to comment on whether Jones has ever denied the paternity of Alexandra Davis.
