Judge to rule on re-opening Armstrong, SCA Promotions case

Image 1 of 2

A Texas district court judge is expected to rule next week on whether to allow Lance Armstrong's attorneys to block SCA Promotions of Dallas, the company that paid out bonuses to Armstrong for his now-stripped Tour de France victories, from re-opening its suit to have those payments returned.

SCA Promotions reached a reported $7.5 million settlement in 2006 with Armstrong after refusing to pay out an estimated $12 million in bonuses on grounds that there was evidence that he had doped to achieve those victories. Armstrong testified under oath that he did not dope, but in 2012, after having his titles stripped by the US Anti-Doping Agency and being handed a lifetime ban, Armstrong admitted to doping in a television interview.

SCA Promotions then appealed to re-open its case, and the arbitration panel ruled 2-1 last October to review it. Armstrong's attorneys asked district court judge Tonya Parker to overrule the panel, arguing the case was closed, and even Armstrong lying under oath was not sufficient to re-open it.

"There is no case [...] that gave an arbitration panel any authority beyond the conduct of the proceeding that was going on before them," Armstrong attorney Tim Herman said to the Associated Press.

SCA Promotions lawyer Jeff Tillotson disagreed, arguing that the language in the settlement allowed for the panel to review any future claims regarding the settlement, and that something should be done because Armstrong "lied at every step of the way."

Armstrong faced a similar suit from Acceptance Insurance Holdings last year, a company which paid out bonuses for his first three Tour de France titles, but settled the suit last November before he was scheduled to testify.

In addition to the legal action by SCA Promotions, Armstrong still faces a much larger challenge from the US government in the form of a whistleblower lawsuit initiated by Floyd Landis. The suit has the potential to cost Armstrong upwards of $40 million.