Britney Spears’ dad, Jamie, must sit for deposition, judge rules
Britney Spears’ dad, Jamie Spears, must sit for a deposition in Los Angeles as part of an investigation into his role as her conservator, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny found that Jamie, 69, had been served properly and failed to show up for the deposition.
He was ordered to schedule it by Aug. 12.
Britney’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, previously slammed Jamie for “running and hiding” from his own deposition and “accounting for his misconduct — under oath — as required by law.”
Meanwhile, Jamie’s team is still pushing for Britney, 40, to be deposed herself.
In a June filing, Jamie’s attorney, Alex Weingarten, argued that the “Toxic” singer should be deposed over her “incendiary allegations of various factual matters,” particularly on social media.
But Rosengart argued at Wednesday’s hearing that deposing Britney would be “retaliatory.”
He also said his client does not have any knowledge that would be useful in a deposition because she was the conservatee.
The former federal prosecutor added that if Jamie’s team wanted information, Weingarten should depose his own client or Britney’s embattled former business manager, Lou Taylor.
Rosengart also told Judge Penny Wednesday that allowing Britney to be deposed would only “retraumatize” his client.
The judge ultimately asked both sides to send briefs as to whether the pop star should be deposed, to be filed no later than July 22. The subject will come before the judge again on July 27.
Judge Penny also denied Jamie’s motion to compel Britney to produce documents while ordering him to release documents and other evidence allegedly in his possession, including electronic surveillance of the star, Britney’s texts with her former attorney and 180 hours of audio recordings.
The Grammy winner and the disgraced conservator’s legal teams also faced off Wednesday on other issues still left on the table after her conservatorship was terminated last November, including Jamie’s request to have his legal fees paid by Britney’s estate.
After Britney’s 13-year conservatorship ended, Jamie was forced to hire Weingarten since his former legal team dropped him. Rosengart has been attempting to investigate Jamie due to suspicions that he misappropriated funds and allegedly spied on his daughter.
Per Variety’s December 2021 report, Jamie’s attorney charges about $1,200 per hour.
Rosengart told Page Six at the time that the request to cover legal fees was done after “Mr. Spears reaped many millions of dollars from Britney as a conservator, while paying his lawyers millions more, all from Britney’s work and hard-earned money.” He added, “Under the circumstances, his petition is not only legally meritless, it is an abomination.”
At the onset of the conservatorship, Britney’s cash-strapped dad received a $40,000 loan from Taylor and the biz manager’s firm, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group, in 2008.
Taylor’s lawyer, Charles Harder, previously said Jamie eventually “repaid” the “small loan,” which Harder insisted “had no effect on Tri Star’s work for the estate in later years.”
