View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Media Law
August 27, 2013updated 28 Aug 2013 12:53pm

Sunday Times settles £1m legal case with Lance Armstrong over 2006 ‘cheat and a liar’ libel payout

By Dominic Ponsford

The Sunday Times has reached an out of court settlement with cyclist Armstrong over its claim for the return of more than £1m in libel damages and costs.
Armstrong sued the Sunday Times in 2004 over an article by David Walsh headlined LA Confidential which was later said in court to carry the meaning that the cyclist was a "fraud, a cheat and a liar".
In 2006 the paper decided to settle the case paying Armstrong £300,000 in libel damages.
Last year it sued for the return of that money, as well as more than £720,000 in costs, after the US anti drugs agency said that Armstrong was a key figure in "the most sophistated doping conspiracy" it had seen. The seven-time Tour de France winner later admitted that his many denials about drug use had been "one big lie"
.
As well as suing the Sunday Times, Armstrong had sued Walsh and former deputy sports editor Alan English personally.
The Sunday Times reports that the paper and the two journalists have "reached a mutually acceptable final resolution to all claims against Lance Armstrong related to the 2012 High Court proceeedings and are entirely happy with the agreed settlement, the terms of which remain confidential".
David Walsh was named journalist of the year at the first British Journalism Awards last year in recognition of his 13-year investigation into Armstrong.
He first raised questions about Armstrong's methods in a 1999 article for the Sunday Times.
The June 2004 piece which prompted the lawsuit summarised allegations contained in a book co-written by Walsh.
At a pre-trial hearing in 2006 the article was held to mean that Armstrong had cheated throughout his career. The Sunday TImes reported this week that, at the time, the paper felt it had to settle the case because "proving he had doped throughout his career would have been extremely difficult".

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly dose of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network