Settlement on hold for Lance’s agents
TWO OF Lance Armstrong’s longtime agents will remain trapped in the disgraced cyclist’s expensive legal nightmare for the foreseeable future following a federal judge’s ruling on Thursday.
U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper denied a motion by the two men, Bill Stapleton and Bart Knaggs of Austin, seeking Cooper’s approval of a proposed settlement agreement that would have released Stapleton and Knaggs from litigation in exchange for around $600,000.
“Until the United States, through its Attorney General, provides its written consent, the court may not approve the settlement or order the voluntary dismissal,” Cooper wrote.
Cooper is overseeing the sprawling case, in which the Justice Department hopes to retrieve as much as $100 million from Armstrong and his cronies. The two Texans and their Austin-based company, Capital Sports and Entertainment, have been defendants in the case since 2010, when Armstrong’s former teammate, Floyd Landis, blew the whistle.
The government declined to charge Armstrong with crimes, but instead joined Landis’ case as a co-plaintiff in February of 2013, claiming Armstrong’s corrupt teams took more than $40 million taxpayer dollars under false pretenses — using performance-enhancing drugs and methods in violation of its sponsorship agreement with the U.S. Postal Service.
When the Justice Department joined the case, it declined to name Knaggs and Stapleton as defendants, leaving them in a dispute with Landis alone. Late last year, Landis agreed to a settlement with the two men, but the government’s lawyers have refused to sign off on the deal.
According to court papers, the Justice Department won’t bless the agreement until Stapleton waives the spousal privilege, opening the door for the government to compel his wife or exwife to testify.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” said Marc Harris, a lawyer for the two agents. “We’ll have to move forward with the case and our defenses.”