Ex-Stripper's Lawsuit Against Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Dismissed
A lawsuit accusing Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones of sexually assaulting a former stripper has been dismissed.
The lawsuit stemmed from an alleged 2009 incident in which 27-year-old Oklahoma woman Jana Weckerly had accused Jones of grabbing her genitals and kissing her in at a Dallas hotel, reports ESPN. Weckerly had been seeking $1 million in damages in the lawsuit.
Why was the lawsuit dismissed?
Suit Barred by Statute of Limitations
For civil lawsuits such as personal injury claims, statutes of limitation serve to limit how long a person who has been injured can wait to file suit. Statutes of limitations vary by state as well as by the type of case. Generally, however, once the given statute of limitations for an action has passed, a lawsuit may not be filed.
In Texas, civil statutes of limitations are from one to five years, depending on the type of claim being made. For civil cases based on sex crimes such as the sexual assault in Weckerly's lawsuit, the statute of limitations is five years.
Woman Claimed Payments Made by Jones Reset Statute
The alleged incident in Weckerly's lawsuit took place in June of 2009, but Weckerly waited until September of this year to file suit, after the five year statute of limitations had run.
Weckerly's lawyer had argued that Weckerly had been paid money by Jones to keep her from going to the police or filing a lawsuit and that these payments should reset the statute of limitations in her case, reports The Dallas Morning News. However, the judge ruled that the lawsuit was barred by the statute of limitations and should be dismissed.
In a statement reported by The Dallas Morning News, Weckerly's attorney said that he and his client would "not contest the judgment as entered by the court" and that "neither Jerry Jones nor the Cowboys organization has paid us any money."
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Related Resources:
- Judge Rules Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Cowboys' Owner Was Filed Too Late (The New York Times)
- Super Bowl Seating Lawsuit Should be Tossed, Cowboys Argue (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
- Fan Sues Dallas Cowboys for Burned Butt (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
- Dallas Cowboys Joseph Randle Arrested for Shoplifting (FindLaw's Tarnished Twenty)
