A defamation lawsuit filed against Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and others has been dismissed, for a second time.
Via ESPN.com, the action brought by Alexandra Davis (who is attempting in a separate action to prove that Jones is her father) has ended, pending appeal.
In the defamation claim, Davis alleged that Jones and others tried to paint her as an “extortionist” who was trying to “shake down” the Jones family for money.
A prior motion to dismiss had been partially successful, but Davis was permitted to file an amended complaint. The amended complaint was filed in late November 2023. It alleged among other things that defendants were “closely working with” Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com, who wrote stories about the original lawsuit filed by Davis against Jones. The revised lawsuit also alleged that the defendants worked with other media members “to ensure all news outlets reported the statements Defendant [Jim] Wilkinson had given to Van Natta.”
The judge concluded that the amended complaint was insufficient to state a legal claim against Jones or the other defendants. Specifically, the judge found that statements made were not sufficiently false to rise to the level of defamation, given that the evidence “clearly show[s] that Plaintiff requested money from Jones in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021.”
“Based on these facts alone, or viewed in combination with all the communications within their possession, it is not plausible that Defendants acted with actual malice in characterizing Plaintiff’s actions as a ‘shakedown attempt’ that was motivated by money,” the judge wrote in a 17-page ruling.
Davis’s lawyers have said they will appeal. Her separate lawsuit is still pending; last month, Jones was ordered to submit to paternity testing.
