During a court hearing on Wednesday, Britney Spears‘ lawyer called her father Jamie Spears’ request to unseal all the documents from the conservatorship case “offensive” and “highly inappropriate.”
“We don’t think a father who loves his daughter would file to unseal her medical records,” the American pop singer’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, said.
Rosengart and Jamie Spears’ lawyer were engaged in a verbal spat during the three-hour legal battle. It was primarily regarding two issues: a disagreement over the payment of attorney fees and allegations that Jamie Spears was involved in the illegal surveillance of his daughter.
During the hearing, Rosengart claimed that his firm had “strong evidence” regarding Jamie Spears’ involvement in “very intense and potentially illegal” surveillance of the singer. This was initially brought to light in a New York Times documentary titled Controlling Britney Spears.
Jamie Spears’ attorney denied the allegations and accused Rosengart of making up false stories. He accused the latter of passing on these surveillance accusations to the media without providing any evidence to back his claims.
Rosengart countered that this was a lie and accused the opposition of making “nonsensical” claims.
In a court filing on the same day, Rosengart’s firm also revealed that it had retained an FBI special agent to conduct an investigation into Jamie’s management of Britney’s estate during the 13-year long conservatorship. The filing also stated that the investigation verified the claims in the documentary regarding the secret surveillance on the singer, which her father had carried out by hiring a security firm named Black Box.
Jamie Spears’ attorney, however, claimed that Rosengart and Spears are using the press and social media to get their side of the story out to the public, and asked the court to therefore unseal all records from the entire conservatorship case for people to hear the “truth.”
Jamie Spears’ Demand for Payment of Ongoing Legal Fees
Meanwhile, the two legal teams are still battling it out over whether Britney must pay the legal fees incurred by Jamie when he was in charge of her finances.
New court filings from Britney’s counsel, ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, state that Jamie Spears and his lawyers took more than $36 million from the singer’s estate. Jamie even used some of his earnings as her conservator to pitch his own reality show, they further state.
These documents were filed in response to Jamie’s demand that his daughter continue to pay his legal fees despite being suspended from the conservatorship, which has since been terminated.
Rosengart’s firm further stated that Jamie Spears also “petitioned for fees to be paid to dozens of different law firms” amounting to “more than $30 million.”
Britney Spears vs Sister Jamie Lynn Spears
The singer has, meanwhile, been engaged in a tussle with her sister Jamie Lynn Spears over the latter’s new memoir Things I Should Have Said.
Stating that she won’t be bullied in her sister’s memoir, which is said to touch upon their relationship and Britney’s conservatorship, the singer has sent a cease-and-desist letter to her sister.
“We write with some hesitation because the last thing Britney wants is to bring more attention to your ill-timed book and its misleading or outrageous claims about her,” reads the letter, obtained by Variety.
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The letter further says, “Although Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain.”
“Having endured a 13-year conservatorship that stripped her of civil rights and fundamental liberties, Britney will no longer be bullied by her father or anyone else. Britney was the family’s breadwinner and she also otherwise supported you. Publicly airing false or fantastical grievances is wrong, especially when designed to sell books. It is also potentially unlawful and defamatory,” the letter adds.
However, after the hearing on Wednesday, Rosengart, when asked if Britney Spears should give sister Jamie Lynn a chance to patch things up, said that he hopes “everybody gets along.”