Earlier this week, a judge ruled that pop star Britney Spears doesn’t have to sit for her father’s deposition, thus denying her father Jamie Spears’ motion to compel her to talk.
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The L.A. County judge said Britney didn’t have to endure or sit for the in-person questioning by her father. Britney’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, had said the process if allowed, would leave her “re-traumatized.”
Judge Brenda Penny said that Spears “likely lacks” knowledge about her father’s disputed conduct, which includes alleged spying, which was first reported by The New York Times. Judge Penny said that Jamie’s lawyers have “alternative” means to find the answers they need without putting an “unwarranted burden” on Britney.
“For example, the topic of surveillance is well within the scope of the pending petition objecting to payments related to unauthorized surveillance,” said Judge Penny. “However, Mr. Spears is likely to receive the same and possibly further responses through other means of discovery.”
Britney’s father wanted to depose his daughter about what he alleges are “unsubstantiated claims” put against him as he continues to seek court approval for his work handling Britney’s finances all the way back in 2019. He’s seeking permission to bill her estate for his ongoing legal fees.
Britney is contesting those approvals. She says he father bullied her and mismanaged her estate. She also claims he bugged her bedroom.
Rosengart said Jamie was looking for a “revenge deposition” amid the ongoing family and financial battle.
Said Rosengart on Wednesday, “Whether (Jamie Spears) believes it or not, his daughter feels traumatized by what she went through at his hands for more than a decade. He is free to believe that his flesh and blood is lying. She isn’t, but he’s free to believe that. What would a decent human being do under those circumstances? What would a decent father do? He would say, ‘That is what my daughter believes. I love my daughter.’ He has told the world that he loves his daughter. If that is true, not only should he accept the court’s ruling, he should withdraw his motion. It’s what a decent man would do.”
In another ruling on Wednesday (July 27), Judge Penny denied Jamie’s motion to be given records from Kroll Associates, an investigative firm that alleged Jamie paid himself upwards of $6.3 million from Britney’s estate between 2008 and 2020.
His lawyer, Alex Weingarten, said he was “flabbergasted” by the idea that Jamie is not entitled to that discovery. Weingarten also said the contested and recently annulled conservatorship Jamie held over his daughter, which allowed him to oversee her finances and career, which she claimed was detrimental to her health and livelihood, is the reason she “is where she is today.”
Added Weingarten, “Mr. Spears is proud and will remain proud, of what he did for – not to – what he did for his daughter, protecting her from svengalis and Rasputins and other unscrupulous people who were seeking to glom on to her fame. He protected her beautifully for 13 years. He did nothing wrong.”
There are still a number of events slated to take place regarding the battle between Jamie and Britney, more records each side wishes to obtain, and more people to be deposed. But as of now, Britney will not be taking the stand in her father’s so-called “revenge” questioning.
Photo: Randee St. Nicholas / RCA Records
