The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Lance Armstrong's Lawyers Seek Dismissal of Fraud Claims

Updated at 5:00 p.m.

A lawyer for Lance Armstrong today asked a Washington federal judge to dismiss the government's fraud case against the famed cyclist, arguing prosecutors failed to meet deadlines to file their claims.

U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins did not rule on the motions to dismiss filed by Armstrong and the other defendants. The judge said at the end of today's hearing he doubted he would dismiss the case in its entirety, but didn’t indicate which defendants he might be inclined to dismiss.

The U.S. Department of Justice accused Armstrong and others of making false claims while receiving millions of dollars in sponsorships from the U.S. Postal Service. Prosecutors said Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing substances violated the sponsorship agreement.

In Insurance Dispute, Washington Nationals Cry Foul Over Player's Age

A dispute between the Washington Nationals baseball club and its insurance company, rooted in fraud claims over a prospect's actual identity and age, was moved this week to the city's federal district court.

The Nationals originally sued Westchester Fire Insurance Co. in May in District of Columbia Superior Court, accusing the company of wrongfully denying a request for coverage after the team said a new recruit duped the club about his actual age. Yesterday, Westchester removed the case to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Williams & Connolly is going to bat for the Nationals. Partner Dane Butswinkas could not immediately be reached for comment and associate Liam Montgomery declined to comment. A team spokeswoman also wasn't available. The Nationals' general counsel, Damon Jones, was an associate at Williams & Connolly before joining the ball club.

Judge Cuts Fees for Plaintiffs' Lawyers in LivingSocial Settlement

Citing inefficient staffing and high hourly rates, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle slashed attorney fees in half for plaintiffs' lawyers in multi-district litigation against daily deal company LivingSocial.

In a March 22 opinion approving a settlement between consumers and LivingSocial over expired deals, Huvelle awarded $1.35 million in fees to the 12 law firms that represented the plaintiffs, instead of the $3 million they asked for as part of the settlement. Co-lead plaintiffs' counsel at Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd did not immediately return requests for comment.

LivingSocial spokesman Andrew Weinstein said in a statement that the company was "pleased to have brought this litigation to a conclusion, so we can focus all of our efforts on creating great local experiences for our customers." The company was represented by a team from Cooley; lead attorneys Michael Rhodes and Christopher Durbin were not available this morning to comment.

Appeals Court Affirms $775K Judgment for Injured MLB Umpire

Updated at 1 p.m.

The Wilson Sporting Goods Co., struck out in its appeal of a $775,000 judgment awarded to a Major League Baseball umpire who sued after being injured by a foul ball. The District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in an opinion (PDF) released this morning.

Edwin Hickox sued Wilson in District of Columbia Superior Court after a foul ball knocked off his Wilson-made face mask during a Washington Nationals game in 2005. A jury sided with Hickox in March 2011 and ordered Wilson to pay $775,000 to Hickox and $25,000 to his wife. Wilson appealed, challenging the admission of an expert who testified for Hickox at trial, among other things.

A three-judge appellate panel upheld the judgment today. Wilson had pointed to flaws in the expert's testimony – such as the fact that he didn't do his own testing of the face masks at issue – but the appeals court found that any deficiencies went to the weight the jury gave that testimony, as opposed to whether it should be admissible.

Animal Rights Group to Pay Circus Producer $9.3 Million Settlement

Twelve years after animal rights groups sued the producer of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus over the treatment of elephants, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has agreed to pay $9.3 million to exit the case.

The settlement announced late last week ended the ASPCA's participation in litigation against circus producer Feld Entertainment Inc. Feld also agreed to dismiss the ASPCA from a racketeering lawsuit the company is pursuing against the animal rights groups involved. In settling, the ASPCA did not admit to any wrongdoing.

The ASPCA and other animal rights groups unsuccessfully pursued claims against Feld in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia beginning in 2000, accusing the company of mistreating its Asian elephants. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan entered a judgment against the animal rights groups in 2009 and a three-judge appellate panel upheld that ruling in October 2011. The settlement doesn't include any other organization involved in the litigation.

O'Connor Faults Supreme Court Critics with a 'Lack of Understanding'

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor called the heated criticism of the Court over the recent decisions involving the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act "unfortunate," telling a Senate committee today that it shows a need for more civics education.

O'Connor testified that comments labeling Chief Justice John Roberts a "traitor" or that he betrayed former president George W. Bush "demonstrate only too well the lack of understanding some of our citizens have about the role of the judicial branch."

O'Connor appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss how to ensure judicial independence through education, speaking about her support of iCivics, a nonprofit group she founded to teach students through free games about how government works and how they can become involved.

Big East Conference Drops Lawsuit Against Texas Christian University

The Big East Conference notified (PDF) a U.S. District judge yesterday that it is dropping its lawsuit against Texas Christian University. The Big East accused the school of refusing to pay a fee it purportedly owed after joining a different athletic conference.

The Big East filed suit against the university in June in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In a statement about the notice of dismissal, the conference said that: "TCU has fully discharged its obligations to the Big East and the lawsuit is amicably settled without admission of liability of any party."

The university also issued a statement, saying that: "The University is pleased with the amicable resolution of this matter and glad to have it behind us."

Roger Clemens Not Guilty of Lying to Congress

Updated 6:13 p.m.

By Mike Scarcella and Zoe Tillman

A federal jury in Washington found former baseball star Roger Clemens not guilty of charges that he lied to Congress about his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The jury returned its verdict this afternoon in U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton's courtroom after less than 12 hours of deliberation spread out over three days.

Prosecutors charged Clemens in 2010 with perjury, making false statements and obstruction of Congress. The case centers on Clemens’ testimony at a 2008 congressional hearing that he never used the drugs, a claim that the government contended was a lie.

Clemens was working out with his sons near the Washington monument when he received a call about the verdict at about 4 p.m. Clemens' top lawyer, Russell “Rusty” Hardin Jr., told Clemens not to expect a verdict until two to four days.

Outside the courthouse, where a throng of spectators gathered after the verdict, Clemens choked up when he described how he felt. "I put a lot of hard work into that career," Clemens said, his voice breaking up. Clemens said: "It's been a hard five years."

Big East Conference Sues Texas Christian University for $5M

The Big East Conference filed a lawsuit (PDF) yesterday against Texas Christian University, accusing the school of refusing to pay an agreed-upon fee after deciding to join a different intercollegiate athletic conference.

The Big East, a District of Columbia-incorporated non-profit that is headquartered in Providence, R.I., filed the $5 million breach of contract complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The group is being represented by Covington & Burling partner Benjamin Block.

In a statement, the university said that "administrators were surprised by this lawsuit and believe it is premature. The University is hopeful for an amicable resolution of this matter."

At the Roger Clemens Trial, Lawyers Trade Allegations

Roger Clemens, one of the great professional baseball pitchers of all time, created a cover story to dupe the public about his alleged drug use in order to protect his name, a prosecutor told jurors today in Washington.

The prosecutor, Gilberto Guerrero Jr., delivering the first part of the closing argument for the government, urged jurors to find Clemens guilty for allegedly lying to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance enhancing drugs during his Major League Baseball career.

“Roger Clemens gets entangled in a web of lies,” Guerrero told the jurors in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Guerrero told jurors to use common sense to dismiss Clemens’s attacks on the credibility of the chief government witness and the reliability of the physical evidence.

Clemens, Guerrero said, made one false statement after another. “Folks, let’s face it. It’s not the lies that get you in trouble. It’s the cover up," the prosecutor said. "One lie leads to another. One false statement leads to another. Before you know it, it’s too much.”