Lance Armstrong, FRS Accused in Suit of False Advertising

By Edvard Pettersson - Mar 1, 2013 12:04 AM ET

Lance Armstrong and FRS Co., a maker of nutritional products for which the cyclist served as a spokesman, were accused of false advertising by linking Armstrong’s Tour de France victories to FRS’s products.

Armstrong in FRS’s television advertisements claimed that FRS’s energy and health supplements were Armstrong’s “secret weapon,” according to a proposed class-action lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles. Consumers wouldn’t have bought FRS products, or would have paid less for them, if it hadn’t been for the misleading ads, according to the complaint.

Lance Armstrong attends the 2011 Pan-Massachusetts Challenge in Bourne, Massachusetts on Aug. 6, 2011. According to FRS’s website, its product were originally developed to provide energy for chemotherapy patients. Photographer: Gail Oskin/Getty Images

A record seven-time Tour de France winner from 1999 to 2005, Armstrong was stripped of the titles by the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency in August. The cyclist acknowledged in a television interview with Oprah Winfrey in January that he used a “cocktail” of testosterone, erythropoietin and blood transfusions throughout his career.

According to FRS’s website, its product were originally developed to provide energy for chemotherapy patients. The company’s products contain quercetin, “a powerful all-natural antioxidant,” according to the website.

Carli LaForgia, a spokeswoman for the California-based company, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail yesterday after regular business hours seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Mark Fabiani, an Armstrong spokesman, also didn’t immediately respond yesterday to an e-mail seeking comment.

The case is Martin v. FRS, 13-01456, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles atepettersson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net