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Lance Armstrong Appeals to Court to Dismiss Federal Lawsuit
Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC
Date: July 29, 2013
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Representatives for disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong filed a motion in the District of Columbia requesting that the courts dismiss federal lawsuit claiming that he defrauded the United States government by using banned substances in violation of his team’s contract with the U.S. Postal Service.
Armstrong asked the court to throw out the Justice Department’s False Claims Act lawsuit against him, by asserting that that the Postal Service was aware of the doping allegations but failed to take action because they financially benefited from their sponsorship and talent agreement.
Armstrong’s representatives claim the Postal Service benefited from “tens of millions of dollars worth of publicity” by sponsoring the seven-time Tour de France winner. In addition, he argues that the Justice Department is barred from taking action against him by a six-year statute of limitations.
“Although the government now pretends to be aggrieved by these allegations, its actions at the time are far more telling: Did it immediately fire the Postal Service Team?,” Armstrong’s motion asks. “Did it suspend the team pending an investigation? Did it refer the matter to its phalanx of lawyers and investigators at the Department of Justice for review? It did not. Rather than exercise its right to terminate the sponsorship agreement, it instead renewed its contract to sponsor the team.”
The government paid the cycling team an estimated $40 million through contracts that were in place between 1998 and 2004. The lawsuit is seeking triple the damages, meaning that if Armstrong loses the case, he may be required to pay as much as $120 million in damages.
Armstrong has faced a significant backlash since he admitted to several years of doping earlier in January. Since his admission, Armstrong is facing multiple lawsuits from insurers and has been dropped by all of his sponsors. After being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, Armstrong also made the decision to step down as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation he founded.
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