Armstrong wants Simeoni lawsuit dropped

An Italian court has been asked by Lance Armstrong's lawyer to drop the litigation started by Filippo Simeoni against Armstrong, according to an Associated Press report. Simeoni sued Armstrong for defamation in 2003 after an article in Le Monde, where Armstrong called him a liar with regard to his testimony in the investigation of Dr. Michele Ferrari.

In January 2006, the Paris civil court decided not to go forward with Simeoni's case, saying that the statute of limitations had already expired in the case against Armstrong and that Simeoni's lawyers had misinterpreted French law. The case was heard again in Latina, Italy on March 7, and Armstrong's lawyer, Enrico Nan, argued that Simeoni's lawsuit should be dropped "because a foreigner should not be held responsible in Italy for comments made to a French newspaper 'even if the Internet can be read anywhere,'" according to AP.

The other Simeoni vs. Armstrong case related to an incident in the 2004 Tour de France, where Armstrong personally marked Simeoni when he was trying to bridge to a breakaway, effectively dooming Simeoni's chances of staying away. Simeoni accused Armstrong of intimidating and insulting him (in relation to his testimony at the Ferrari trial), but the charges were dropped last year by a court in Lucca, Italy.