Qui Tam lawsuit continues
One year after the Sunday Times said that it was considering legal action against Lance Armstrong over the libel settlement the newspaper had made in the past, the Texan has made an undisclosed payment over the matter.
The newspaper was forced to pay a large sum in 2006 after Armstrong and his representatives sued it over an article which appeared in the newspaper two years earlier.
A settlement was made then to the rider, who claimed he was racing clean and was defamed by the article in question.
However the US Federal investigation enquiry and USADA’s investigation into Armstrong and his team uncovered irrefutable evidence that both the Texan and the team itself had indulged in widespread doping for many years.
Armstrong finally admitted to drug use during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January. The Sunday Times had already launched a claim at that point and today’s declaration by the newspaper of a payout is confirmation that it was successful.
Sports editor Alex Butler announced the news in an article. “Last night The Sunday Times announced that it…had ‘reached a mutually acceptable final resolution to all claims against Lance Armstrong related to the 2012 High Court proceedings and are entirely happy with the agreed settlement, the terms of which remain confidential’.”
“It is the final episode in a long legal battle between this newspaper and the fallen icon…”
A total was not disclosed but speculation puts the figure at a million pounds or more.
Armstrong is also facing multiple claims from others who he sued, including the insurance company SCA Promotions.
More seriously, he and the US Postal Service team’s former owners are the defendants in a Qui Tam whistleblower suit launched by Floyd Landis and joined by the US Government. If they lose, damages could total 100 million dollars as the US Postal Service would be entitled to triple damages.