Individuals who purchased memoirs from disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong are suing for false advertising. They say Armstrong and publishers Penguin and Random House incorrectly marketed two books as non-fiction.
According to reports, Rob Stutzman and Jonathan Wheeler purchased the books “It’s Not About the Bike” and “Every Second Counts” because of the belief in Armstrong, and feel they have been betrayed by lies about doping contained in both.
The plaintiffs are seeking restitution and possible punitive damages. They say the publishers are included because they should have detected Armstrong’s deceptions.
Similar attempts in the past have failed to make it to court, and one involving Greg Mortenson’s “Three Cups of Tea” was dismissed.
RBR-TVBR observation: False or deceptive advertising is FTC territory. We don’t think there is any reasonable case against the publishers, since a lot of folks besides them were taken in by Armstrong. We doubt that the FTC will enter into this particular fray, but if they do we’ll let you know about it.
