Lance Armstrong Lawsuit Dismissed, Legal Team to Try Again

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 10, 2012

An Austin, Texas judge has struck down Lance Armstrong's lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on Monday, but Armstrong's legal team claim they will resubmit the complaint.

The 7-time Tour de France winner is facing accusations of using drugs to enhance his performance and was banned from competing in all Olympic sports and was looking to block the punishment with the lawsuit.

The U.S. District Court's Sam Sparks chastised Armstrong's legal team for filing a lengthy complaint against the USADA. Sparks said the 80-page complaint was filled with allegations that "were totally irrelevant to Armstrong's claims."

Moreover, Sparks said the court interpreted the complaint as being a tool to "increase media coverage of this case, and to incite public opinion against" the anti-doping watchdogs.

"This court is not inclined to indulge Armstrong's desire for publicity, self-aggrandizement or vilification of Defendants by sifting through 80 mostly unnecessary pages in search of the few kernels of factual material relevant to his claims," said the judge in his order.

Despite being shot down, Armstrong's lawyers said Monday that they will go to court again this week to try to halt the USADA's drug case against the world-class cyclist.

The USADA's claims are not the first made against Armstrong. Since his career took off in 1999, the Texas native has had to combat claims of doping. He has admitted that the allegations had taken a toll on him emotionally and he was relieved when the investigation ended last year.

When the charges and the ban arose again last month, Armstrong staunchly maintained his innocence and claimed that the USADA intended to "dredge up discredited" doping allegations against him in an attempt to strip him of his seven Tour de France victories.

Judge Sparks added that Armstrong could refile his case within 20 days, but only is he limited his pleadings to information that was legally relevant to his case.

If charged with doping, Armstrong faces a lifetime ban from participating in Olympic sports, the loss of his Tour de France titles, and the forfeiture of the money and awards he earned from past competitions.