A prize-insurance company sued Lance Armstrong on Thursday in Texas state court in a bid to recover $12 million paid out to the former pro cyclist for three of his Tour de France wins.


The lawsuit, filed against Mr. Armstrong and his agent, comes three weeks after Mr. Armstrong said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had used performance-enhancing drugs when he captured his seven Tour de France titles. In that interview, Mr. Armstrong provided no details on who had helped him dope and said nothing about how he avoided getting caught.

Mr. Armstrong was stripped of his titles last year after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which polices drug use in American sports, initiated formal charges against him for allegedly conspiring to run an organized doping program aimed at dominating the Tour de France. Usada doesn't have the authority to bring criminal charges, but it can sanction athletes by stripping them of their titles and banning them from competition for doping.

Mr. Armstrong chose not to fight Usada's charges, which alleged that he had participated in a conspiracy to cheat. Usada also barred him for life from participating in elite-level sports.

The lawsuit by SCA Promotions Inc., filed in Dallas County state district court, accuses Mr. Armstrong and his agent, William Stapleton, of engaging in a civil conspiracy to commit fraud, as well as unjust enrichment and breach of contract. The complaint alleges that Messrs. Armstrong and Stapleton conspired to defraud SCA regarding Mr. Armstrong's "rampant drug use."

It also claims Mr. Armstrong perjured himself in January 2006 when SCA was trying to prove in arbitration hearings that he cheated to win the Tour de France. "I race the bike straight up fair and square," Mr. Armstrong testified under oath in the SCA arbitration, the suit says.

A spokesman for Mr. Armstrong said SCA had already settled its dispute with Mr. Armstrong in 2006, agreeing to pay him $7.5 million and signing an agreement with Mr. Armstrong and Tailwind Sports Inc., the company that managed his former team.

Mr. Stapleton didn't return a phone call Thursday seeking comment.

The dispute between SCA and Mr. Armstrong dates back to 2004, when SCA declined to remit $5 million in bonuses that Tailwind had agreed to pay if he won the 2004 race, citing published reports and other allegations that he had doped. SCA Promotions, based in Dallas, indemnifies sponsors offering large cash prizes based on athletic feats. SCA generally charges fees of 3% to 15% of the prize value.

Write to Vanessa O'Connell at vanessa.o'connell@wsj.com and Reed Albergotti at reed.albergotti@wsj.com