Following a ruling from a Los Angeles County Judge on Wednesday (July 13), Britney Spears’ dad must stop dodging his daughter long enough to sit down for a deposition, no later than August 12. In the deposition, Jamie Spears will answer questions about his alleged “misconduct,” amid his daughter’s now-terminated conservatorship.
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Judge Brenda Penny ruled that Jamie Spears must travel to Los Angeles for the examination, per the pop star’s request, according to Rolling Stone. She further ruled that he must produce “all documents and communications” sought by his daughter that might reveal his “electronic surveillance” of the “Toxic” singer.
The decision marks a big victory for Britney, but Judge Penny declined to issue an additional ruling that would outright reject Jamie’s request to depose Britney. After both sides passionately stated their case, the Judge said she wanted to be further briefed on the matter before issuing a final decision at the follow-up hearing.
Britney’s representation, Mathew Rosengart, called Jamie’s request to question his daughter under oath “immoral” and claimed it would largely be a “revenge deposition.” Jamie however has a sizable amount of “credible evidence” that shows he mismanaged Britney’s 13-year conservatorship, Rosengart said.
“Britney Spears wants to move on with her life,” Rosengart said. “She is free, and Mr. Spears wants to suck her back into this conservatorship for his own improper, immoral, and, we believe, unsupportable reasons.”
Jamie’s lawyer argued for his “fundamental right” to depose his daughter saying, “The unequivocal fact here is that Ms. Spears is a party to this litigation. She has filed verified objections both to the accounting and the fee petition. She cannot avoid participating in discovery in this case. It is black-letter law, your honor.”
Britney was freed from her conservatorship on November 12 after a lengthy trial period. In her live address to Judge Penny, the singer said her conservatorship, largely controlled by her father, was “cruel” and “abusive.” Under the legal arrangement, Jamie had control of the singer’s finances, health care, and personal relationships for most of her life.
The follow-up hearing that will decide if Britney is off the hook or not is slated for July 27 in Los Angeles.
Since being freed from the conservatorship, Britney has married her longtime partner Sam Asghari in an intimate at-home wedding in the Thousand Oaks area of Los Angeles. Despite dropping her legal constraints she continues to publically fight off her family members as they begin to tell all about the situation.
(Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
