Attorney in Spears case appeals conservatorship

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An attorney who claims to represent pop star Britney Spears has filed an appeal challenging the conservatorship that gave the troubled singer’s father control of her personal and business affairs.

The filing, made on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Jon Eardley, claims that Spears was not given the minimum five-day notice required by California law when control is sought over a person’s assets or estate.

“The record shows no legitimate grounds for dispensing with the 5-day notice requirement … nor any finding by the court of good cause for dispensing with the 5-day notice,” said the filing, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

Eardley has said in previous court filings that he was hired by Spears in a telephone conversation, and a spokesman for the attorney told Reuters on Tuesday that Eardley continues to believe he is acting in her best interest despite the fact a federal court has ruled that he cannot act as her attorney.

Sands said it will be up to the California court of appeals to rule on this latest appeal in the twisting and turning legal battle over the 26-year-old singer whose life has veered out of control since late in 2006.

Spears, who gained fame as a child star on TV and as a teen scored hit songs like “Oops … I Did it Again,” has been in rehab, lost custody of her sons to ex-husband Kevin Federline and been hospitalized twice for psychiatric evaluation.

On February 1, a California state court granted temporary conservatorship to her father, Jamie Spears, and attorney Andrew Wallet. That ruling remains in effect until July 31. 

Britney Spears more cartoonish than ever

In world exclusive screen shots courtesy of The Sun, you can see the troubled star has had the animation treatment.

The audacious promo to forthcoming singleis set in a futuristic world, and sees Brit depicted as a pretty, slim-line superhero.

And the unorthodox shoot was the star’s own idea.

She told label bosses she wanted a cartoon version of her celebrated

The troubled singer – who first showed off her acting skills in the widely criticised 2002 movie Crossroads - will appear in the CBS sitcom in an episode due to air in April, a representative for the show confirmed.

Britney is expected to play a character called Abby - who works in the doctor’s office owned by main character Ted - who is described as "sweet and friendly and scattered and a little nerdy".

The 26-year-old star is already working hard to make sure she is fully prepared for the role.

She was spotted leaving the 20th Century Fox studios in LA yesterday after having a script read-through with other cast members, including Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segal.

Media not helping Britney's public collapse

The pop superstar, 26, is coming unhinged — and in full view of the world, thanks to an unprecedented 24/7 media watch that makes her the only celebrity anywhere with this level of scrutiny.

Her outlandish behavior — lack of underwear, head-shaving, rehab, custody battle, psych ward — has been chronicled in mind-boggling detail. So has the mundane. On Tuesday, there was a hearing in her custody case over a gag order, which was denied. She went to a restaurant with her dad and kept getting up to go to the bathroom. It was all covered.

Expect her life to continue to unspool before us. One reason: There is big money to be made.

“The biggest news in the world right now is celebrity news,” and Britney is the biggest story, says Gary Morgan, CEO and co-owner of Splash News, a paparazzi photo agency.

Helping to fuel the interest: dramatic changes in the media landscape. The number of celebrity media outlets, journalists, photographers and bloggers has soared. News-delivery technology — the Internet, cellphones, podcasting — has rapidly expanded, and the revenue derived from covering celebs has multiplied.

Portfolio magazine recently calculated the value of what it called “the Britney Industrial Complex” and found that she and her travails are worth $110 million to $120 million a year to the economy. The Britney paparazzi alone take in $4 million annually, or about 20% of the overall paparazzi business.

The mainstream media also has turned its attention to Spears. “She’s a mess, and people want to see what happens,” Morgan says.

Indeed, demand is not flagging. Sales of Us Weekly and OK! climbed in 2007 (10% for Us and more than 23% for OK!) even as other celebrity magazines saw circulation diminish. The reason cited: their coverage of Spears, who has been on OK!’s cover 54 times in the 103 issues since January 2006. She has been the No. 1 weekly celebrity in USA TODAY’s Celebrity Heat Index, which has measured media attention since last January, more times than any other celebrity, and she outpaces No. 2 in total exposure (Angelina Jolie) 2-to-1.

The Los Angeles bureau chief of the Associated Press issued a memo to his staff last month reminding employees that for the foreseeable future, anything involving Spears is big-deal news. Rolling Stone, which first put her on the cover when she was 17, has her on the current issue with the headline, “Inside an American Tragedy.”

Then there’s the Chico Enterprise-Record. The 32,000-circulation daily in Chico, Calif., declared a month-long moratorium on Spears stories on Jan. 20 and is considering extending the ban for another month. Nobody has complained, the paper continues to publish, life goes on — just without Britney Spears news.

But maybe the reason Chico readers didn’t complain is that it doesn’t matter — there are countless other places to find Spears news these days.

Still, the Britney mess raises questions for the media, or at least for those who consider themselves responsible journalists: Have they become part of the story? Is the overpowering coverage contributing to her downward spiral? Should they pull back? Or is it their job to keep the cameras running until whatever happens … happens?

“We are taking pleasure in the spectacle of her self-destruction. By looking, we add momentum to what is already the most dramatic and publicly detailed immolation of a public figure in our lifetime,” says Michael Joseph Gross, a writer for Blender magazine who spent weeks hanging out with the Spears paparazzi for his March cover story on her “Road to Ruin.”

The experience left him deeply disturbed, he says, partly because of the role of the media and the public.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever written about. There is no light in this story,” Gross says.

It’s tempting to place the bulk of the blame for Spears’ predicament on increasingly aggressive paparazzi, and there’s no doubt they play a role, Gross says. “The paps I rode with are aware they are helping Britney along a destructive path,” he says. “But they don’t seem to take her life or their own lives seriously enough to stop and honestly assess what’s going on.”

The paparazzi now number in the hundreds in Los Angeles, many of them foreign-born; when Splash opened in 1989, there were just a handful and all were American, says Morgan, who is British.

Some agencies, such as TMZ.

Judge wants lawyer to explain reasoning for request to move Spears …

LOS ANGELES: A federal judge wants an attorney who claims to represent Britney Spears to explain why he believes her conservatorship belongs in federal court.

Attorney Jon Eardley argues that the terms of the conservatorship, which occurs when a court determines someone cannot take care of themselves or their affairs, violate the pop star's civil rights.

Judge Philip Gutierrez on Tuesday ordered Eardley to explain by Feb. 29 why the federal court should intervene in a probate case. The order came after attorneys for Spears' father, James Spears, who was named her temporary conservator Feb. 1, argued in a motion that the conservatorship should remain in state court.

James Spears' team argued that a state Superior Court commissioner had previously found that the singer did not have the capacity to retain counsel, and that conservatorship matters do not fall under federal jurisdiction.

Spears' ex-manager must stay away

Sam Lutfi must not come within 250 yards (228 metres) of the singer until 17 March, US District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez said.

In papers requesting the order three weeks ago, Ms Spears’ mother Lynne claimed Mr Lutfi had drugged the star, cut her home phone and yelled at her.

Earlier this week, Ms Spears was denied access to her two young sons.

The singer has not seen her children since 3 January, when she became agitated and was taken to hospital at the end of a court-monitored visit with them.

Ms Spears, who recently spent six days in a psychiatric unit, has repeatedly asked the court to reinstate her visitation rights, but her requests were rejected.

Her father, James Spears, has been granted “temporary conservatorship” over his 26-year-old daughter’s life and her estate, thought to be worth $100m (?50.

Lutfi given Spears restraining order

Britney Spears’s manager Sam Lutfi has been issued with a restraining order, ordering him to stay at least 250 metres away from the singer at all times.Lutfi has also been banned from communicating with the popstar, according to court documents.Spears’s mother Lynne requested the restraining order three weeks ago, claiming that Lutfi had drugged her daughter, cut her home telephone line and was controlling her life.

Spears' lawyers: 'Britney is incapable of testifying in court'

Britney Spears’ driving without a valid license case has been postponed by one month because the troubled star is currently incapable of giving a deposition.Spears’ lawyer J. Michael Flanagan was granted an extension to work on the case in January and was due back in Los Angeles Superior Court for a hearing on Wednesday.But Judge T.K. Herman has further pushed back the misdemeanour case after the defence argued Spears’ conservatorship attorneys “do not think she is qualified or capable of entering into a binding agreement” at this time.Spears’ father Jamie was recently appointed conservator of his daughter’s estate – he has temporary control over the Toxic singer’s legal and financial affairs until March 10 following her hospitalisation earlier this month for her reported bipolar disorder.

Restraining Order Against Spears' Pal Extended

A federal judge in Los Angeles has extended a restraining order against Britney Spears’ pal Sam Lutfi by nearly a month. The judge Thursday ordered a March 17 hearing on the matter and extended the restraining order until then.Lutfi was served with the restraining order issued earlier this month.An attorney for the singer’s father, James Spears, said Lutfi was served with the order outside his Los Angeles apartment after apparently evading it for three weeks. The order requires him to stay at least 250 yards away from Britney Spears and her house. It was set to expire Friday.

Judge extends restraining order against Britney Spears' pal Sam Lutfi

LOS ANGELES – A U.S. federal judge has extended a restraining order against Britney Spears’ pal Sam Lutfi by nearly a month.

The judge ordered a March 17 hearing on the matter. He extended the restraining order until then.

The action comes on the same day Lutfi was served with the restraining order, which was issued earlier this month.

In court papers, Jeffrey Wexler, a lawyer for Spears’ father, wrote “after three weeks of apparently evading service,” Lutfi was served with the restraining order outside his Los Angeles apartment.

The order requires Lutfi to stay 250 metres away from Spears and her home. It was set to expire Friday.

More Cops Called to Casa Spears

The cops have returned to the Summit. Perhaps even more surprisingly, so have Britney Spears' parents.

Police were called to Spears' gated community Monday night, following an apparent dustup between the singer and her steady companion Sam Lutfi.

The cops, however, weren't there to referee the fight; instead, police cited several individuals for illegal parking, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Officer Mike Lopez told E! Online.

After the LAPD sent the shutterbugs scurrying, Spears' hitherto estranged parents, Jamie and Lynne, rushed over to the house, a source close to the family told E! News exclusively.

They wanted to make sure Spears was okay, after learning from the media that their daughter had fought with Lutfi, the source said.

Spears paparazzo pal Adnan Ghalib also drove up to the tony enclave on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, supposedly at Spears' request, but was denied entry when the gate guards dialed the troubled popster's home to get her permission. 

It's unclear whether Spears issued instructions to keep Ghalib away or if Lutfi, who earlier Monday told Barbara Walters of The View that the singer was getting psychiatric treatment, was the one who gave the order.  

Ghalib told TMZ that Spears called him following a major verbal blowup between her and Lutfi that occurred at about 7 p.m. as they were driving toward her home.

"Baby, can you come pick me up?" Ghalib said Spears asked him. He then told her to wait for him inside her house and he would come to pick her up.  

Spears had jumped out of Lutfi's car just inside of the gate, where she ran head-on into the waiting flashbulbs. X17online reported that another photographer on the scene, identified only as "Filipe," eventually drove Spears up to her house.

The paparazzi who ended up on the wrong side of a citation had abandoned their vehicles while angling to get footage of the purported fight.

"Can you please just go away?" a tearful Spears said at one point when one photog complimented her plaid hat as she was walking away from Lutfi's car, per video shot at the scene. 

"I'm sitting for once and having a nice time with my dog!" she yelled at the paparazzi, while she was waiting for her ride to arrive.

Spears, clutching her little dog, was then videotaped getting into Filipe's SUV and the pair drove off. 

Lopez said police responded to the call, thinking that people had followed Spears into the Summit, although it turned out they were amassing outside the area. 

"Next thing you know, we were called out there to the scene to make sure everybody left," he said.