As reported by various sources today including the New York Times, Associated Press and ESPN, Armstrong settled the government case brought against him by Floyd Landis for $5 million. Originally they were seeking $100 million.
Armstrong racing Plateau de Beille, 2004 Tour de France
This settlement ended years of legal wrangling between Armstrong and the government over whether the Postal Service had actually sustained harm because of Armstrong’s doping.
“We’ve had exactly the same view of this case forever, which was that it was a bogus case because the Postal Service was never harmed,” Elliot Peters, Armstrong’s lead lawyer said. He added that the Postal Service had boasted that sponsoring Armstrong’s cycling team for $32.3 million was a marketing boon. That was the value of the second deal between the Postal Service and the team. That contract, unlike its predecessor, contained an antidoping clause.
Armstrong USPS fans in Paris, 2004 Tour de France
The trial would have started in a few weeks if they had not been able to settle.
“I am particularly glad to have made peace with the Postal Service,” Armstrong said in a statement issued by Peters’s law firm. “While I believe that their lawsuit against me was without merit and unfair, I have since 2013 tried to take full responsibility for my mistakes, and make amends wherever possible. I rode my heart out for the Postal cycling team, and was always especially proud to wear the red, white and blue eagle on my chest when competing in the Tour de France. Those memories are very real and mean a lot to me.”
Armstrong and USPS team Parade of Teams, Paris, 2001 Tour de France
A statement from Peters’s law firm said the settlement had ended “all litigation against Armstrong related to his 2013 admission that during his career as a professional cyclist he had used performance-enhancing substances.”
Floyd Landis, the former teammate who brought the suit, will get $1.1 million. Armstrong will also pay Landis $1.65 million to cover his legal costs. Landis told ESPN’s Bonnie Ford he was “relieved” that the legal process had ended without going to trial.
“I really didn’t want to relive it in a courtroom, and I don’t think Lance did either, and I don’t know that that would have really accomplished anything,” Landis said. “Rather than going through that humiliation again, we’re better off. I mean, it was up to Lance, but I think he probably feels the same way.
“He benefited more than everyone else and he’s also paid more than everyone else.’
Armstrong and Landis racing in Paris, 2004 Tour de France
“It has been a difficult ordeal, and public opinion was not always on my side,” Landis said in a statement from his lawyer’s office. “But it was the right thing to do and I am hopeful that some positive changes for cycling and sport in general will be the result.”
“I am glad to resolve this case and move forward with my life,” Armstrong said. “I’m looking forward to devoting myself to the many great things in my life — my five kids, my wife, my podcast, several exciting writing and film projects, my work as a cancer survivor, and my passion for sports and competition. There is a lot to look forward to.”
