Lance Armstrong asks judge to wipe out federal case
Lance Armstrong could see the US federal government’s $100m lawsuit against him wiped out if the summary judgement he has asked the judge for is accepted.
It’s 59 pages long with 91 exhibits, all filed in federal court Wednesday in hopes of ending a $100 million lawsuit filed against him by the federal government.
If successful, his summary judgment motion could throw out all remaining counts against him in the government’s case, decimating a suit that accused his cycling team of submitting false claims to the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS paid $32 million to sponsor his team from June 2000 through October 2004 — an amount that could be tripled to nearly $100 million under the False Claims Act.
“In the cold light of morning, the USPS sponsored a cycling team, received far more benefits from that sponsorship than anyone could have anticipated, and therefore have no actual damages and no viable claims against Armstrong,” his argument stated. “For these reasons … the Court should grant Armstrong’s motion for summary judgment.”
The issue will be decided by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, whose court also received a request for partial summary judgment Wednesday by the federal government. In effect, both sides are asking Cooper to decide key parts of the case without a jury trial. If Cooper doesn’t grant Armstrong’s request, the case would proceed to trial. A decision isn’t expected for months.
