Yesterday, there was yet another major hearing in the Britney Spears legal saga. Britney’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart was in court for a closed-door hearing into Britney’s conservatorship. For a few months now, Rosengart has argued several things concurrently: that Jamie Spears should be removed as conservator, but that the removal process needs to go a certain way so mechanisms can be put in place to protect Britney and her assets. Rosengart has also argued – correctly, I believe – that Jamie Spears is trying to use the termination of the conservatorship as a way to avoid further inquiries and investigations into his decisions regarding Britney’s finances. Meanwhile, Jamie’s lawyers have been arguing for an immediate termination of the conservatorship. The judge ended up granting Rosengart’s petition to remove Jamie Spears as conservator, but the conservatorship is still in place in some form, with a court hearing coming up to examine what is next.
At a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Brenda Penny granted a petition by Ms. Spears’s lawyer, suspending Mr. Spears, 69, from his position as overseer of his daughter’s $60 million estate — a move Ms. Spears was pleading for, her lawyer said.
“This man does not belong in her life, your honor, for another day,” Mathew S. Rosengart, who took over as the singer’s lawyer in July, argued in court. “Please hear the plea of my client.” He said that it would be a “disaster” for Mr. Spears to remain in her life.
Lawyers for Mr. Spears said that the conservatorship should be ended instead, calling his record as conservator “impeccable.” But after hearing from both sides, the judge agreed that suspending Mr. Spears was in his daughter’s best interest. “The current situation is not tenable,” Judge Penny said. She named a California accountant, John Zabel, as the temporary conservator of the singer’s finances, as Mr. Rosengart had requested.
Jamie’s lawyer Vivian Lee Thoreen argued to end the conservatorship right then and there and she was shut down by the judge. Rosengart argued that by asking for a swift termination of the conservatorship, “Mr. Spears was seeking to avoid having to turn over records from the conservatorship, including 13 years of financial information.” The next hearing for the case is scheduled for November 12th, and that will be to check in on the orderly transition of the conservatorship. And clearly, Rosengart is asking for a full audit of Britney’s finances. I would be too – there’s no way that she’s *only* worth $60 million. I’m really enjoying Rosengart’s legal arguments on Britney’s behalf. He seems like a very good lawyer.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Britney’s IG.
While they’re looking over everything, they need to go after that lawyer she had for 13 years. Clearly he wasn’t representing her interests.
I’m know I’m not saying anything new but when they do the audit, they’re probably going to find a staggering amount of her money went just to the upkeep of the conservatorship itself, i.e. lawyers, consultants, etc. Staggering.
It was practically a cottage industry all by itself.
I just wish her happiness, health and stability.
Part of what they are fighting about is Jamie’s self-dealing with Britney’s money. Rosengart has already itemized some of it in court filings. But, the good news (and the only thing done right in this conservatorship) is that there is a $40M bond on Jamie and his role of fiduciary. The conservatorship can claw money back from that. And guess who the bond company will go after to get their money back? Lol! The rest of Jamie’s life will likely be as stressful and miserable as he has made his daughter’s for the last 13 years.
Wow, I didn’t know there was a fidelity bond in place. But it makes sense – at least that was done as a precaution and obviously something the Judge ordered. Or maybe it’s required by statute. I don’t know about CA bond requirements for a conservator. Surely they will find mismanagement and Britney or her conservatorship will make a bond claim, and be paid back the misappropriated funds from the surety. Hopefully there won’t be litigation on the bond claim. And then, sweet justice, the surety will make a claim back against Jamie for repayment. Not that he has anything…he likely squandered everything he took or put it in offshore accounts. The man is the shadiest of shady. Why is he living in that trailer again when making $16K a month, plus?
Well, that off shore gambling addiction didn’t pay for itself! And Lynn’s mansion? And Jamie Lynn’s FL vacation home? Their personal maintenance income(since no one in that family seems to work much, if at all)?
Remember when KFed asked for more money, and when he threatened to go to court, Spears gave it to him in a NY min. instead of chancing the books being opened.
I’d also look at all transactions with the drs and attys Spears hired to check for kickbacks.
I hope Brit’s lawyer has a fantastic forensic accountant lined up!
Jamie gave himself a percentage of the income from Britney’s tours and Vegas residency. This is obvious self dealing and an abuse of the conservatorship. He is supposed to manage Britney’s finances, not personally profit from her work.
absolutely delicious news. Go Britney! I hope she gets as much of her money back as she can. Her father is absolute t rash.
People who are interested in the money side should listen to the podcast ‘Toxic’, and specifically the episode ‘Work B*tch’. They get experts in the field to look at the court financial documents and make assessments. This idea that she is only worth 60M comes from the fact that most of her value is in her IP, and Jamie continually filed that it was too hard to work out (experts say it would take 2 months) and the judge let him do that. So her Pepsi money, her perfume money, her TV money, her music rights, on and on and on… none of that is included in the 60M. No one has any idea what the status of that money is, or where it is or even how much there is. So incredibly dodgy. We are talking potentially hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. They need to take a fine tooth forensic accounting comb to the lot.
Can co-sign listening to Toxic. I’m not a Britney stan (too old), but man her story is absolutely heartbreaking. Toxic does a great job laying out all the pieces and highlighting the horror of her situation, and others who are less famous and stuck in conservatorships. I wish Britney all the very best, and hope her trauma at least opens some window and shines a light on the abuses being committed elsewhere.
Mathew Rosengart is on FIRE. He is not letting anything or anyone slide, and Britney truly has the right attorney fighting for HER. (Every time he makes a statement I want to use all the applause emojis.)
Yep I feel you!! He has done more in 2 months than her useless lawyer did in 13 years. But we all know who he worked for so no surprise there. This case has been a clusterf*ck of abuse and ‘how on earth did it get this far’ moments.
How did it get this far? A piss poor judge.
I wonder when the change in judgeship occurred.
Also when the co-conservator, Andrew Wallet withdrew, that was a huge red flag. Did he discover something which put his own fiduciaries duties at risk? Did he withdraw to mitigate exposure? Ummm….
I really, REALLY hope this guy turns out to be as good-intentioned as we want him to be. I’m going to be devastated if we have another Michael Avenatti on our hands.
Why would you even question that? The man is a former federal prosecutor and has an extraordinarily long record along with a substantial list of very famous clients.
@Molly: I understand completely.
@Mich: Mr. Rosengart sounds like an absolute legal ace but once upon a time, so did Michael Avenatti (working for his client, Stormy Daniels). Ever heard of “once burned, twice shy…?”
Michael Avenatti was shady AF when he was defending Stormy; he’d already been sued over the dissolution of another law partnership, was embroiled in a messy divorce, and had generally unsavory rumors following him. The hope was that even though he was shady, he was on the side of right, so his character was generally overlooked when he and Stormy were working well together.
Rosengart has nothing in his past to suggest that he is anything but ethical, and a shark in the best possible sense of the word. I hope he has a financial team that blows the doors off of the whole thing and gets Britney all that she deserves. 13 years of her life were lost, and I am glad she has him fighting for her.
Yes, this man means business and it’s about time!
Good. It’s amazing how much progress has happened once she got a competent lawyer truly look out for her best interests. I hope they find every penny her father and others stole from her, and she get some sort of justice.
Her father is so, so awful. As a parent, I don’t understand how anyone could do this to their kids. As the daughter of a narcissist, I unfortunately do.
Ugh i couldve written that comment. Youre not alone
Both of her parents are awful.
Same!! I have 3 children and I can’t imagine them doing anything that would cause me to turn my back on them, or in this case, seek to exploit, abuse, and destroy them. Congrats to Britney, finally!!!
Same. I don’t think my blood has ever turned to ice so fast as when I heard “well her parents are just worried about her” “they’re looking out for her” like every parent is a loving, stable parent not out for their own gain by default. The “but they’re your parents” carte Blanche was used way too many times against me in the past.
I’m not a parent but sadly in the same position as you regarding being the daughter of a narcissist. I watched my father bully money and a house out of his mother and aunt and I can only imagine that he will come to me when that is all gone as there’s no-one else. We’ve been estranged for years now but I assume its going to happen. He can take a long hike when he does!
Sarahcs – yep, my dad asked multiple family members to “loan” him money and asked my then teenage sister to use her college money (given by my grandparents) to pay for his my house. He said she could take out a loan to pay for school. My sister refused but it devastated her that my dad could be so selfish. It’s not on the level of Brittany (at all), but it makes me so sad to think of my dad wanting to use my sister as his own personal piggy bank. For that reason, he has no idea how much money I make.
So happy to hear that Britney has someone fighting for her.
Related note. She has really great fans. Starting a Free Britney movement definitely helped her realize she could pursue and get out of the situation she was in and the abuse she was experiencing.
There are a lot of whisperings on blogs that Madonna is the one that hooked Britney up with this great lawyer. I don’t know how true it is but on the red carpet for her documentary last week Madonna was asked about Britney. Madonna said she had just spoken to Brittany earlier that day and had congratulated her on her engagement. If Madonna is the one that introduced this lawyer, Madonna has just done a great thing and saved a woman.
That would be very interesting. I thought I had read that he’s pretty well known for dealing with conservatorships and he is working for Britney probono because technically she can’t hire anyone. I got the impression he heard about the case and reached out to her. But it would also make sense that Madonna knew of him and connected them.
He’s really doing a great job and clearly can’t wait to eviscerate Jamie.
Watch the new NYTimes doc on surveillance of Brit. Horrendous stuff.
Really? Why did I just respond with that question. Of course it is!! I had heard about possibly hidden video/recording devices in every corner of private space so that Jamie, The Thief, could see and hear everything!! I will certainly look that up, thanks @ Keira!!
On a side note, I am extremely happy for Britney as this has devastating to watch what she has had to endure for the past 13 years!! Just the documation of the manipulation of medication regarding working, ability to see her sons, etc, were shocking to hear on news yesterday.
I’m so happy for Britney and hope her scum of a father (and all the ppl who’ve taken advantage of her) have to pay back all the money they stole from her. I will never understand how you could do this to your own child.
I hope they go after the medical team too. How could they have drugged her and exams she “didn’t pass” for 13 years without an official diagnosis? They never filed a document proving her incapacity or “dementia” and worked her like a horse.
People are usually saying she is mentally ill, but that has never been proven. She might be, sure, but again, it was never made official. This thing is so obscure, so corrupt, that I honestly consider the possibility of them taking someone who was going through depression and spiraling and creating this whole farse that she was mentally ill so that they could control her.
I hate that Lutfi guy, but Lynne was the only person who “saw” him giving her medicine and stuff. Why did they never file a criminal complaint against him? Only a restraining order? Issued by the same judge? If someone were drugging MY kid, I would want them in jail.
And her ENTIRE family, who spent time with her, spoke to her, saw how lucid she was, is complicit. They kept their mouth shut, saying she wasn’t “all there,” that she was fine and happy with the conservatorship, so they could continue taking money from her.
ITA!!! It seems like every party in this conservatorship, from the judge down, was acting in bad faith, but the medical part!! This needs to be laid to rest already. I know someone will come running in here talking about she is bipolar but the reason given for the conservatorship was “dementia” and that is nonsense. For the record I personally don’t believe she has any “diagnosis” other than the stress and pressure of being hounded and villified by the press with not a single person in her corner (her dad would cut off people who were or got close to her.) So I hope the truth about this comes out soon coz enough already with it.
@ purple haze, yes!! How all of these professionals were complicit, for a period of 13 years, regarding Britney’s well-being, as well as turning a blind eye with each professionally entity, was utterly disgusting and shocking to me!
I saw the newest Netflix Doc Britney vs. Spears last night and I always hated Sam Lufti until I saw that documentary. He said “If they thought I was drugging her, why didn’t they call the police, how was it she passed every drug test while I was in her life” He and other friends consistently tried to get Britney her own attorney to no avail. This documentary made me SO sad for her.
Yeah I’m wary about Sam Lutfi. He “worked” for Courtney Love too and she and her daughter were granted a restraining order against him in 2019. There are multiple articles detailing how he harassed her and her daughter. Courtney Love isn’t the most stable of people obviously and I think Sam Lutfi preyed on her the same way he preyed on Britney. I think anyone who was in Britney’s orbit at that time in her life was trying to take advantage of her. There are rumors he brokered relationships with the paps and would tell them where they were going. She went from being in one controlling environment to another with her parents. She hasn’t been free to live the way she’s wanted to for years.
How exactly did he get enmeshed into her circle? She just randomly met him and started talking to him and asked him to come work for her? That’s what he alleges in the Netflix documentary but he has zero credibility. She had no one she could trust. I think both he and her parents are equally responsible for the spiral of chaos that descended on her.
Sam let paparazzi into her gated community. He’s not a good guy, he exploited her. I wouldn’t take his word for anything.
yeah, she might have a mental health diagnosis, but even if she does that’s no excuse to just REMOVE HER RIGHTS and hand her money to others
FINALLY!!! Congratulations Britney!!! I’m so glad that Britney is free of her toxic father. The rest of her “family” must be quaking in their shoes as well since they’ve all been living off Britney for years. Karma is coming for them…
Kudos to Britney for standing up and speaking out in court. That, plus the ceaseless, untiring efforts of everyone in the “Free Britney” movement, capped off by Matthew Rosengart’s ferocious legal work on Britney’s behalf made this happen.
I also don’t believe for a nanosecond that Britney is *only* worth $60 million. Now that Jamie has been fired, I hope Britney finds peace, happiness and true love and goes back to making music. And if she wants to spend her fortune, let her. It’s her money; she earned it.
And speaking up in front of a judge who had previously not taken into account what Britney said. She testified in front of judge Penny a couple of years ago and nothing was done. Can you imagine Britney’s courage in speaking up again, in front of the same judge. That takes guts!
The first lawyer should be disbarred. The father and medical team criminally investigated.
@ Lizzie, that is what I want to know, regarding the medical “experts” treating her supposed “dementia”. I am not familiar with how the state operates regarding law licenses, but the last week or so ago, there was an interview with a well respected and regarded physician that spoke out how fully incompetent the medical review board is in CA. The complete disregard for patients safety and well-being are ignored solely for the benefit for all practicing physicians in CA. The egregious mistakes and deaths that are filed against physicians in that state are very rarely, if ever, held responsible for their treatment of patients. It was eye opening experience as I always assumed that as progressive, responsive and dedicated many state agencies are, that their medical board is refusing to care for the wellness of CA residents and patients. In Texas, they come after you like rabid dogs, but CA was shocking to me.
Thanks for the insight. Hopefully CA will make examples of them all.
Am so happy for her. The Spears family and Lou Taylor have to be bricking it now as karma is coming for them. She is going to sue the lot of them. If Daddy can’t save his own ass he will take them all down with them.
Jamie Lynn better get all the vacations in Florida in as she ain’t gonna be able to afford it soon.
Yes they really need to come for Lou Taylor as well so far she has managed to squeaky out of stuff because she is so litigious she scares people
I’ll admit, I’m going to feel a little gleeful if they determine Britney owns everything, and Jamie Lynn gets kicked out. I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt for a while, but her recent actions have changed my mind. She’s as complicit as the rest of that lot, and I hope they all pay, in one way or another, for what they’ve done to Britney.
Her Daddy was an abusive monster BEFORE she became famous…and like ALL monsters that are able to run amok…he got worse…
So happy to see SOME high profile monsters getting taken down!
Gawd I’m so happy for Britney, I just can’t believe how long this has gone on for. Every single person in her life is in on it, her family, staff, lawyers, doctors ,literally everyone. It must have been so lonely for her not knowing who to trust. I heard she had recording devices in her own bedroom.
I prey that she gets her freedom and all those involved face the jail time they deserve.
I can’t wait for the whole audit of her finances, we’ll see how much Britney’s family and team took from her and hopefully they’ll face legal repercussions.
Small thing, but could we get a different header photo Celebitchy? We just found out this week that he bugged her bedroom. That photo is creepy AF.
Super happy for her, love her lawyer!
I watched the Britney vs. Spears doc on Netflix and last night started the Controlling Britney Spears last night on Hulu (the second one in the New York Times series). It is all so horrifying. I remember at the time this all went down thinking it was good for Britney to get away from Sam Lutfi (a character who is controversial but he is not a good dude, no matter what the Free Britney people say) who seemed to be enabling so much of what was going on around her. I thought she was finally going to be okay now that her family was involved and she was allowed visitation with her kids. But no, she’s been surrounded by horrible people her whole life. Everyone has tried to take advantage and make money off of her. Jamie Spears is a horrible human being and no one in any documentary has anything redeeming to say about him. I would LOVE to hear from her ex-fiancé Jason Trawick, he always seemed like a good dude. The stories he could tell.
The surveillance aspect is all pretty horrifying. I know Britney hates all these docs (anyone in her situation would) but it’s largely in part thanks to them that the public is aware of what’s happening her and why the majority are now in her corner. I hope someday when this all far behind her she chooses to share her story on her own terms, given that everyone else is telling it instead of her. To finally have her father out of the conservatorship is so amazing and I hope she can finally regain control of her life.
Wow, finally. Huge win for her, and I bet more will come out now that she’s free. Wishing her peace and happiness.
X 100! 💗