Judge refuses to move up hearing on removing Britney Spears' father from conservatorship
The judge in Britney Spears’ conservatorship case denied a request from the singer’s attorney to move up a hearing on removing James “Jamie” Spears as conservator of her estate.
Los Angeles Superior Judge Brenda Penny rejected the petition to advance the hearing to remove Jamie Spears as conservator in a new filing on Monday. Britney Spears’ new attorney, Mathew Rosengart, filed the motion last week where he also raised questions about Jamie Spears’ financial dealings.
He asked the court to either schedule a hearing as soon as possible or suspend Jamie Spears' conservator powers until a hearing could be held. Jamie Spears is currently the sole conservator of the singer's estate, following the resignation of financial institution Bessemer Trust.
Britney Spears "continues to suffer ongoing harm each day that Mr. Spears remains in place as the Conservator of the Estate — emotionally, psychologically, and financially,” the petition said.
Rosengart told the court that the removal or immediate suspension was critical to his client’s wellbeing and for a possible investigation into her father’s use of her money, the filing said.
The petition to remove Jamie Spears will be addressed during a hearing on Sept. 29 in Los Angeles, according to the case schedule. Jamie Spears’ legal team declined to comment on Penny’s ruling to NBC News Monday. Rosengart did not immediately respond to a request for comment to NBC News.
In an opposition to the petition to replace him, Jamie Spears told the court Friday that his daughter is "mentally sick" and could be subject to involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. Britney Spears’ temporary conservator of the person, Jodi Montgomery, expressed concern in a July 9 phone call over the pop singer's mental health, according to the Friday filing.
Jamie Spears said in the document that during their phone call, Montgomery sounded "distraught" and "expressed concern about Ms. Spears’ recent behavior and her refusal to listen to or even see her doctors."
His sense, he said in the document, was that "Ms. Spears was spiraling out of control."
"Ms. Montgomery explained that my daughter was not timely or properly taking her medications, was not listening to the recommendations of her medical team, and refused to even see some of her doctors," he said in the filing.
Montgomery, speaking through a statement from her lawyer, Lauriann Wright, said she did express "concerns" about the star's "overall mental health," but that Jamie Spears "misrepresents what Ms. Montgomery said to him in relation to a potential 5150 psychiatric hold for Ms. Spears."
Involuntary psychiatric detainment in California is known as a 5150 hold.
"At no time did Ms. Montgomery express to Mr. Spears that Ms. Spears would currently qualify for such a hold," Wright said.
Montgomery said her words were twisted and that her concerns were related to the possibility that Britney Spears would have to testify in her attempt to remove her father from the conservatorship.
Rosengart, who was selected by Britney Spears and joined her case on July 14, filed a request to remove Jamie Spears within two weeks of his appointment as counsel. He also called on Jamie Spears to voluntarily resign from his daughter’s case during the July 14 court hearing, saying it was clear the arrangement was not working.
In the petition to remove Jamie Spears last month, Rosengart argued that Britney Spears’ mental health was being negatively affected by her father’s control over her life. The filing included a declaration from Montgomery that alleged the current father-daughter dynamic was "not psychologically healthy" for Britney Spears.
"I have had numerous, ongoing conversations with the medical team, and we all agree that it would be best for Ms. Spears' well-being and mental health that her father stop acting as her Conservator," Montgomery said.
Wright reiterated concerns about the case’s impact on the singer’s emotional wellbeing in her Friday statement, saying that “forcing Ms. Spears to take the stand to testify or to have her evaluated would move the needle in the wrong direction for her mental health.”
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