Lance Armstrong loses bid to halt $100 million lawsuit

TIL Desk Sports/ A federal judge has refused to block the government’s USD 100 million lawsuit against Lance Armstrong, putting the former cyclist on course for trial in a 2010 case stemming from his performance-enhancing drug use. The lawsuit was filed by Armstrong’s former US Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis. The federal government joined in 2013 after Armstrong publicly admitted he cheated to win the Tour de France seven times from 1999-2005. Armstrong was stripped of those titles and banned from competition.

Armstrong has also taken huge hits financially, losing all his major sponsors and being forced to pay more than USD 10 million in damages and settlements in a series of lawsuits. The Landis lawsuit would be the biggest by far and the ruling from US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington yesterday was a major setback for Armstrong with a trial most likely in the fall. Armstrong’s legal team didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Landis, himself a former doping cheat who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title, sued Armstrong under the federal False Claims Act, alleging Armstrong and his team committed fraud against the government when they cheated while riding under the Postal Service banner. According to court records, the contract paid the team, which was operated by Tailwind Sports Corp., about USD 32 million from 2000 to 2004. Armstrong got nearly USD 13.5 million.