Posts Tagged ‘conservatorship’

Sam Lutfi’s Sis: Brit Wants Help

April 2nd, 2009

There’s a new twist in the ongoing battle between Jamie Spears, conservator over the affairs of his daughter, Britney Spears, and Sam Lutfi: Sam’s sister Christina Lutfi testified in court yesterday that the star is afraid of her dad and wants her own lawyer, according to the Associated Press.

 

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Jamie and his attorneys are looking for a long-standing restraining order against Sam, the man whom many see as partly responsible for Brit’s very public fall from grace in 2008.

 

However, even though Sam had agreed not to contact Brit under a previous agreement, Christina Lutfi says she snuck a prepaid cell phone from her brother to Britney while at a Beverly Hills hotel sauna so the two could be in touch.

 

Christina also testified that Britney told her she was afraid of her father and wanted to hire her own lawyer. She says she called the number often to check on Brit. However under questioning, Christina couldn’t remember the number of the phone she gave to Britney or one of her brother’s cell phones.

 

The L.A. judge extended the temporary restraining order until closing arguments on April 21.

 

MORE PICS OF BRIT!

 

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Testimony Heard in Sam Lutfi Restraining Order Trial

April 1st, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

It was another trip into the strange world of one-time <a href="http://okmagazine.com/search/Britney" target="_blank"><strong>Britney Spears</strong></a> hanger-on <a href="http://okmagazine.com/search/lutfi" target="_blank"><strong>Sam Lutfi</strong></a> today as an L.A. judge heard testimony about whether or not the restraining order keeping him from contacting the pop star should be made permanent.

First up on the Judge Aviva Bobb’s witness stand was attorney John Anderson, who testified that he had been contacted by Sam with the goal of taking over Britney’s legal representation from Sam Ingham, the attorney appointed by the court after her father had been declared her conservator.

<a href="http://www.okmagazine.com/pixandvids/gallery/9358/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3182836701_3521c6e4a4_o.jpg" width="163" height="52" alt="brit2" /></a>

Anderson testified that, despite the fact that Lutfi had told him that Britney lacked the legal capacity to hire her own attorney, he nonetheless drew up papers for her to sign. Anderson had been told by Lutfi that all of Britney’s phones had been cut off and that the singer was effectively living "in prison."

"Britney asked [Sam] to help her," Anderson testified. "Her phones had been cut off and her ability to meet anypone was also cut off… She said it was as if she was in prison, that she was completely controlled by her father with no ability to contact anyone… that the conservatorship and her father were causing her emotional distress."

Somehow, Lutfi provided Anderson with a "signed" copy of her petition to change representation, and the lawyer then took steps to ask the court to be named Britney’s rep. But after conferring with the conservators, he ultimately opted not to pursue this line of action.

 

Next up on the stand was Daniel William Haynes, a former roommate of Lutfi who testified that he had to take out a restraining order against Sam after only five months of living together. The main purpose of Haynes’ testimony was to help prove that Sam had previously used the screenname "CityGalIn310" — the same screenname that later sent Britney and her father e-mails and texts.

Longtime Jamie Spears attorney Blair Berk took the stand to testify that she had received threatening messages from the CityGalIn310 screenname. According to Blaie, in January, Sam "made clear to me by his words that there was some embarrassing information that he was fearful would be released against him" by Britney. And if that info were to be made public, Lutfi allegedly told Berk that he would then see to it that "destructive and unflattering information would be released about Jamie and Britney." Berk saw this as "extortion" and contacted the LAPD.

In court, Lutfi’s lawyer Bryan Freedman tried to counter this testimony by claiming that Brit was "crying out for help to Sam" and that she "left four messages on his machine asking sam for help" in late December and early January.

As for these messages, which were recently leaked to the press, Berk said, "My opinion was that — based on the unusual language that this person was using, words that I’ve never heard britney used; turns of phrases, use of language — that was not Britney Spears… Based on the sound, it was clearly edited."

Berk also shot down Sam’s claims that Britney had been reaching out to him for help. "She repeatedly asked if I could get [Sam] arrested for what he’d done to her and to get the court to order him to stay away from her," Berk testified.
 
On hand to tell yet another side of this sordid tale was Sam’s sister, Christina Lutfi, who said she met Brit several times while Sam was "living with Britney." According to Christina, she was borrowing one of Sam’s cellphones one day in January and received at least three calls from Britney asking for Sam to help her get a new lawyer. Christina also claimed that Britney asked her to ask Sam to get her a phone so she could contact him. "She wanted sam to get her a lawyer," Christina testified. "She was afraid of her father and wanted a way to get a pre-paid cellphone."

So on Jan. 16, Britney’s ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib provided Sam with a pre-paid phone, which he then passed on to Christina. And per Britney’s alleged instructions, Christima met up with the singer at the Peninsula Hotel’s 5th-floor gym, where Brit was working out with mom Lynne Spears.

Christina testified that Britney went into sauna she followed 10 minutes later to give her the phone. Recalls Sam’s sister: "At that point Britney asked, ‘Will they be able to help me?’"

At the end of the day, Sam’s lawyers argued — and failed to win — a dismissal. They tried to convince the judge that, without the testimony of Britney or her doctors, the prosecutors can not  prove "substantial emotional distress" that would merit making the restraining order permanent.

Both sides will have their say on April 21, when the judge will hear closing arguments in the case.

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Sam Lutfi Suing Britney Spears

February 3rd, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

The minute Britney Spears isn’t embroiled in one legal battle is sure to be a wonderful moment for the formerly troubled pop star – but that’s not going to happen just quite yet. Sam Lutfi, former creeptastic constant companion has filed a lawsuit against the pop star, reports TMZ.

 

Lufti, who also tried to be named Britney’s conservator earlier this week, (after Britney was granted a restraining order against him and old flame Adnan Ghalib) claims that the Spears family "began a campaign of slander, libel and defamation aimed at discrediting, destroying and physically and emotionally intimidating Lutfi in order to drive him out of Britney’s life." Lufti’s also looking to collect on some unpaid management fees he says he’s owed.

 

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Brit’s parents have said that they believed Lutfi deliberately kept Britney drugged in order to control her. While under Lutfi’s influence, Britney shaved her head, attacked a paparazzi with an umbrella, and was admitted to the hospital. Since father Jamie Spears took over his daughter’s affairs she’s released a hit record, regained her formerly fit body, increased her visits with her children and planned a tour for this spring.

Cover Story: Britney Trades Kids for Fame

January 7th, 2009

She has a #1 album, recently entertained audiences on Good Morning America and shared the stage with Madonna. But with the March 3 launch of her concert tour in New Orleans, Britney Spears is hoping to regain much more: to fully reclaim the adulation and fame she had exactly 10 years ago, when her controversial single "Baby One More Time" shot to the top of the charts on Jan. 30, 1999.

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Britney Gallery!

But it’s no secret that, as she starts to climb back to the top, there are sacrifices she’s had to make along the way — specifically, spending less time with her two adorable sons, Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2.

Now, OK! has learned exclusivly the extraordinary price the singer is paying for her comeback, voluntarily giving up the fight to regain custody of her boys in exchange for fame.

Last fall, as her upcoming concert tour was being organized, Brit’s camp discovered that because of the star’s history, they could not purchase insurance to cover her tour unless she was still under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears. Until that point, the plan was for the conservatorship to be lifted on Dec. 31, followed by Britney, 27, heading to family court with a petition to regain custody of Preston and Jayden.

But an insider tells OK!, "The insurance situation changed everything."

And so, on Oct. 28, the singer agreed to indefinitely accept her father as her conservator – a decision which meant she would still legally be considered a child. No judge would give her custody of her kids, nor would her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, agree to it.

"Whether it was her decision or whether she was pressured into it, Britney’s deal with the devil put the tour ahead of the kids," the insider tells OK!.

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CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Britney Gallery!

For more on OK!’s exclusive story, Pick up the new issue — on sale everywhere Thursday!

Brit’s Dad Gets a Raise

December 23rd, 2008

Jamie Spears just got a nice holiday bonus for playing the important role of father and keeper to his daughter, Britney Spears: the Los Angeles Superior Court has granted him $6,000 more a month for his work keeping the pop star’s life on the straight and narrow.

 

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Britney gallery!

 

Brit’s dad was making around $10,000 a month, but will now get around $75 an hour or $16,000 a month to keep an eye on his famous daughter’s affairs. He’ll also get backpay

and $1,200 a month to rent out an office.

 

L.A. Superior court Commissioner Reva Goetz says his pay raise was justified by Jamie’s work getting his daughter back on track with her career and personal life.

 

If only everyone got paid to be a parent!

Brit’s Dad Still the Boss

November 5th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

With the Dec. 2 release of her new album, Circus, a live performance on Good Morning America and an album party in NYC that night, birthday girl Britney Spears will be celebrating more than just turning 27.

 

She’ll also be riding high from the Nov. 30 airing of MTV’s 90-minute documentary
For the Record, featuring extensive interviews and revealing footage from her own production company.

 

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Britney Spears gallery!

 

But while Britney’s career is on the rise, the “Womanizer” singer’s personal life remains stalled: On Oct. 28, her dad Jamie Spears’ status as her legal conservator was continued for the foreseeable future.

 

“Legally, Britney is basically a child,” a source close to the case tells OK!. “She can’t make any financial or legal decisions for herself, and she can’t regain custody of her sons, Preston and Jayden.”

 

However, with the safety net the conservatorship provides, Britney is expected to get longer visitations with her children starting this month.

 

"Britney desperately wants to have control over her own life, but if she wants to keep her finances in order and spend the maximum time with her kids, she needs to leave well-enough alone,” the source says. “But the conservator will likely end in 2009.”

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Britney Spears gallery!

 

Britney’s Conservatorship Made Permanent!

October 28th, 2008

It looks like Britney Spears‘ conservatorship is here to stay.  According to TMZ, lawyers for the singer’s conservatorship case have asked the court commissioner to make her conservatorship permanent.  The judge agreed to grant the request.

Brit’s conservatorship was scheduled to end on Dec. 31.  TMZ reports that under a permanent conservatorship, it will be easier for the singer to regain custody of her kids. In other words, the family law commissioner will give Britney more time with her sons if there’s a safety net in place.

The commissioner reportedly didn’t want to keep extending temporary power. It makes more sense to grant a permanent conservatorship and then just lift it– if and when Britney is deemed sound enough to handle her own affairs.

The conservators will now be responsible for handling Britney’s business affairs and career opportunities. Under the present state, a medical team will oversee Britney’s career to make sure that what she does will not compromise her mental health.

"The conservatorship is necessary and appropriate for the complexity of financial and business entities and her being susceptible to undue influence," the commissioner said.

OK! Exclusive: Jamie Spears Breaks His Silence

August 15th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

For the first time since re-entering Britney Spears’s life as her conservator, her dad Jamie Spears is talking exclusively to OK! about his struggle to help his daughter re-gain control of her life.

Brit’s dad is telling everything — from what he thinks of Kevin Federline, to when he hopes the conservatorship will end, to how his relationship with Britney is today.

"We’ve grown a lot," Jamie tells OK!. "I’ve been able to come back into my daughter’s life, and that was an adjustment anyway, because I’m an alcoholic and it’s the first time we’ve really been able to share."

 

Jamie, who initially moved into Britney’s Studio City home at the beginning of the conservatorship, says he no longer has to live in the house.

"I don’t stay here anymore," he says. "Every now and then, I’ll stay if we have something early in the morning we have to do. "

Jamie says both Brit and K-Fed wanted to avoid going to trial over their custody dispute, and that in the end it came down to negotiating how much time Brit wanted with their sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

"It made no sense for that trial to proceed so we worked out an agreement," he tells OK!. "The agreement says that on Oct. 1 we’ll probably get another overnight, and that will stay in place until the end of the year or the end of the conservatorship."

 

As for his feelings about Kevin, Jamie says, "Kevin has a wonderful heart. I don’t agree with giving him more money…. He wants them to raise these kids together. Kevin’s heart is right."

 

Currently, Britney has the boys on Monday, Wednesday and an overnight on Friday. As Britney’s conservator, Jamie accompanies every visit. The conservatorship is in place through the end of the year, but Jamie says he’s hopeful that his daughter will reach a place where she no longer needs it.

"I would hope that it stands until the end of the year, and then we’ll sit back and evaluate where we are at the time, where Britney is at that time," he tells OK!.

Jamie admits the conservatorship was a major adjustment for Britney, but in a twist of fate, has given them both a chance to grow together as father and daughter.

"It’s wonderful. It’s new for both of us," he explains. "She sometimes calls me 50 times a day and asks me things that light my life up. But, like all daughters, she is very manipulative and cunning. So she gets what she wants a lot."

 

Britney’s progress has been monumental, thanks in large part to her father taking the legal steps to take over her life. But, at the end of the day, Jamie is just a dad, trying to protect his daughter.

"I do understand that my baby made this monster," he says, adding, "But when she was down, people took advantage."

Brit Pays Big for Sanity

July 31st, 2008

The last year has seen many changes in the life of Britney Spears.

Most of the focus centered on the custody battle over her two beautiful boys with ex Kevin Federline and the long standing conservatorship over her person and estate that, thanks to her father Jamie Spears, has slowly helped the singer,26, regain and stabilize her mental health.

While most will agree Brit’s conservatorship is necessary to keeping her healthy, it has not been without a heavy price — literally.

In the last five months, Britney has paid $724,109 in attorneys fees to Andrew Wallet, Sam Ingham, Luce Law Firm and Stacy Phillips and to her father, who to date has made aproximately $37,500 acting as his daughter’s conservator.

And that’s just her conservatorship case. Brit’s also had to shell out money for her separate custody case (Remember, Brit paid both K-Fed’s lawyers and her own).

A source close to the case estimates that Britney has paid Mark Vincent Kaplan roughly $745,000 as well as over $1 million to a rotating door of attorneys who acted as her counsel.

When you add all that money together, the total number equals out to just under $2,500,000 that Britney has paid to attorneys in the last year.

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