Lance Armstrong Loses $10 Million Arbitration Ruling

AUSTIN, Texas — An arbitration panel ordered Lance Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Corp. to pay $10 million in a fraud dispute with a promotions company for what it called an “unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy” that covered up his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Dallas-based SCA Promotions announced the 2-1 decision against the former cyclist when its lawyers said Monday they had asked Texas’ 116th Civil District Court in Dallas to confirm the arbitration ruling, dated Feb. 4. The panel included a neutral chairman, who ruled in favor of SCA, and one person selected by each side.

Tim Herman, a lawyer for Armstrong, insisted the ruling is contrary to Texas law and predicted it will be overturned by a judge.

“No party in this case came here with clean hands,” Lyon wrote.

“The final decision by the panel reminds me about the ‘do right rule.’ It doesn’t matter what the law is, let’s just do what is right,” Lyon wrote. “Arbitrators, like judges, don’t have that luxury, and the Panel exceeded its authority by indulging itself here.”

Armstrong also is being sued by the federal government and former teammate Floyd Landis in a whistleblower fraud action over his team’s sponsorship contract with the Postal Service. That case is not set to go to trial before 2016.

The New York Times