Jerry Jones' attorneys seek delay in sexual assault lawsuit trial
Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones and his lawyers are seeking a delay to the start of his sexual assault lawsuit trial, the Dallas Morning News reported on Tuesday. The jury trial, which is currently scheduled for March 18th of this year, will hear the case being presented against Jones, the Dallas Cowboys Football Club and the National Football League by a woman who alleges the 81-year-old kissed her and “forcibly groped” her in 2018.
The NFL team owner’s lawyers have filed for a delay on the grounds of “conducting formal discovery.” They’d like the jury trial to begin no sooner than March 3, 2025, which is more than a year from now and more than five years after the personal injury lawsuit was filed in 2020.
Dozens of affidavits signed in preparation for trial
Through multiple filings in the lawsuit, the public has learned that more than a dozen figures within the Cowboys organization have sworn affidavits regarding the events of Sept. 16, 2018. In the Tom Landry Room that day were Jones, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyron Smith, Jason Garrett, Ezekiel Elliott, and Tyrone Crawford, among others.
Lawrence reportedly invited the alleged assault victim, known as J.G., to the game at the stadium that day with her son, who played high school football with the Cowboys defender. In the sworn affidavits, the witnesses involved said they did not see Jones “touch anyone in a way that [they] believe was inappropriate or offensive.”
Although the case was previously dismissed, an appellate court brought the case back in February of 2023 after the complainant “made a good faith attempt to amend her pleadings in response to the court’s special exceptions order.” The appeal on Jones’ behalf went through to the court in May, according to the latest court documents.
The woman, J.G., is seeking damages due to “severe emotional distress,” “psychological pain and suffering” and for medical expenses.
Jerry Jones defamation, paternity cases still open
A Texas judge on November partially dismissed a defamation suit filed against Jerry Jones by his alleged biological daughter. The suit, brought by 26-year-old Alexandra Davis, claims that Jones “initiated a deliberate plan” to portray her as “an ‘extortionist’ and a ‘shakedown artist’” after she initiated a lawsuit to prove that the business magnate is her biological father.
The judge, Judge Robert W. Schroeder III, concluded that the comments made were either true or “not defamatory,” according to ESPN‘s Don Van Natta Jr. He also ruled that Davis is a “limited public figure,” which means Jones would have had to trigger the higher “actual malice” standard to prove defamation liability against Davis.
Davis’s attorney, Andrew Bergam, revealed to Van Natta that they plan to amend the pleading and that “the case is moving forward.” The plaintiff has 21 days to amend the suit.
Davis’s effort to get Jones to submit to a paternity test and to extinguish the confidentiality agreement signed by her mother is still ongoing.