http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/?id=2005/jul05/jul30news
Blow for Armstrong in Sunday Times suit
Lance Armstrong's lawsuit against London's Sunday Times has lost some steam
after Great Britain's Court of Appeal ruled that the newspaper was entitled
to publish a story that alleged that the Texan had used illegal performance
enhancing drugs. On Friday, the Court of Appeal's three-judge panel
overturned a High Court decision that had previously ruled against the
Sunday Times. The case is set to continue, as the newspaper is now allowed
to present its defence as to why it felt it was in the public interest to
publish the contentious piece. A date for the trial has not been set,
however.
The original article was based on the book L.A. Confidentiel, co-authored by
David Walsh and Pierre Ballester, which contained a number of stories
collected from former associates of Armstrong that tried to paint a picture
of him using illegal methods to boost performance. However, no hard proof
was given in the book, and after publication, David Walsh admitted that it
was all circumstantial evidence.
In a separate case, just after the book's publication, a Parisian court
ruled against Armstrong's desire for a rebuttal be included in the book,
saying that he was given the opportunity to respond by the authors, but
declined.