Lance Armstrong testifies under oath in SCA case

Lance Armstrong has this week given testimony under oath in a case in which he is being sued for $12 million in relation to bonuses paid to him for three of the Tour de France titles he was stripped of in 2012.

However, the disgraced cyclist won’t have to testify just yet in a separate case that could result in him having to pay damages of $96 million in an action initiated under whistleblower legislation by former team mate Floyd Landis that has been joined by the US government.

Yesterday, the 42-year-old gave a videotaped deposition in a case relating to SCA Promotions, a Texas-based company that had insured potential bonuses for his Tour de France victories between 2002 and 2004.

When rumours of his doping first surfaced a decade or so ago, SCA decided to withhold the bonuses but made a settlement in 2006 after Armstrong took the issue to arbitration in a case in which he also gave sworn testimony.

During the case which resulted in Armstrong winning $7.5 million, he insisted under oath that he had “never” doped, adding: "How many times do I have to say it?"

He also said: "I race the bike straight up fair and square."

A statute of limitations means that despite having confessed to doping last year, he cannot in this instance face charges of perjury.

The former US Postal rider has unsuccessfully sought to block his requirement to testify under oath in the current case, but had to do so yesterday, when he was questioned by SCA’s lawyer, Jeffrey Tillotson, reports USA Today.

Neither, Tillotson nor Armstrong’s attorney, Tim Herman, made a comment on Armstrong’s deposition after he made it, adds the newspaper, and for now his testimony is not being made public.

Armstrong’s lawyers have also sought to prevent him having to give sworn testimony in the whistleblower case brought by Landis under the False Claims Act, which relates to misuse of government funds, with his former US Postal team being backed by a state agency.

He had been due to testify on 23 June, but the as in the SCA case, his attorneys have fought to prevent him having to do so.

Judge Robert Wilkins, who is presiding over the case in Washington, DC, says he expects to issue a ruling on Armstrong’s motion to dismiss within the next week, according to Bloomberg.