British newspaper sues Lance Armstrong to recover libel settlement funds
Lance Armstrong's legal and financial woes continue. The Sunday Times of London is suing the disgraced cyclist for approximately £1,000,000 (about $1.6 million) for his 2004 libel action against the newspaper. In that action, Armstrong received £300,000 (roughly $484,000) for payment of his legal fees when the paper raised the possibility of outside assistance (i.e. performance-enhancing medication) in Armstrong's recovery from testicular cancer.
"It is clear that the proceedings were baseless and fraudulent," the paper wrote in a letter to Armstrong's lawyers. "Your representations that you had never taken performance-enhancing drugs were deliberately false." Accordingly, the paper is demanding the return of the £300,000 plus interest, as well as accrued legal costs. The case was settled in 2006.
Armstrong's career has gone into a tailspin since the revelation of a USADA report breaking down the details of an alleged (but very-well-documented) wide-ranging drug conspiracy involving Armstrong. He has continued to maintain his innocence, but has declared that he will not fight the USADA's charges. As such, he's been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and other awards. However, he has subtly maintained that he considers himself the rightful winner of those races, most recently by posting a picture of himself in front of the famed yellow jerseys on Twitter.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
