There's that memorable scene from "Bonnie and Clyde." The police are in hot pursuit of the bank robbers. Then, the bank robbers decide to turn around and pursue the police. That ends in a chase - of the police by Bonnie and Clyde. It's the police who run for cover.
Pursuing the pursuer has become a shrewd strategy in litigation. Lance Armstrong is using it now, reports Bloomberg. Former New York Stock Exchange head Richard Grasso did that effectively. He put current News Corp General Counsel Gerson Zweifach up against former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer who accused Grasso of unjust enrichment. Instead of caving like many of the others Spitzer had brought charges against or threatened to, Grasso pushed back. It took time but he won.
Armstrong's push back might also take time. But he could win. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has required Armstrong to accept its sanctions or take part in arbitration. It has accused him, along with five others, of being in a conspiracy to use and traffic prohibited substances. If Armstrong agrees to its sanctions he claims that he could wind up losing his way of making a living. If he agrees to the arbitration, which he contends is a rigged process, he is bound to lose.
The complaint he filed in federal court asks for a court order to stop the agency from imposing this choice on him. U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks dismissed the complaint because of procedural matters. However, he is allowing Armstrong to refile it within 20 days.
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