Despite some adamant claims to the contrary, Britney Spears' troubles are still very much an L.A. story.
A U.S. District Court judge has given attorney Jon Eardley-the latest legal eagle enlisted by the "Toxic" songstress to battle her father's conservatorship status-until Feb. 29 to provide a legitimate reason to remove the case from Los Angeles to federal court. (View the order.)
A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Mar. 17
Of course, that's just one of the many strands in Britney's tangled web of a legal docket.
A source close to the embattled pop princess tells E! News that the divorced mother of two has been "emotionally down" since Tuesday's custody hearing, during which Court Commissioner Scott Gordon persisted in refusing to allow her to visit sons Sean Preston and Jayden James.
"She's bummed out," the Spears insider said, adding that Britney's low spirits also led to the cancellation of some upcoming dance rehearsals. "She had hoped for some sort of visitation, but it didn't happen. She's pretty down about it."
Britney last saw her kids Jan. 3, when a bizarre standoff with police at her Beverly Hills home resulted in a brief stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for observation.
But it was her slightly longer stint in UCLA Medical Center's psych ward a few weeks ago that led to her father's unwelcome new role in her life and her involuntary estrangement from some of her once constant companions.
Sam Lutfi's publicist filed a petition on Feb. 14 to transfer the conservatorship case on behalf of the New York-based Eardley. The complaint alleged Britney's civil rights had been trampled by the court's refusal to properly investigate her family's claims that she's unfit to manage her finances, choose what company to keep and make various other decisions regarding her welfare.
Michael Sands, acting as spokesman for both Lutfi and Eardley, said last week that he had filed the documents before a court commissioner extended Jamie Spears' temporary conservatorship until Mar. 10, thereby making the action null and void.
Meanwhile, an L.A. Superior Court spokesperson said Friday that all Britney business remained under their jurisdiction.
"Jon Eardley is very happy that the judge will look at the explosive documentary evidence in the Britney Spears conservatorship railroad," Sands told E! News Tuesday.
"This is a very positive step that the judge is concerned. Jon Eardley will have court papers filed by Feb. 29...This is the first step in the victimization of Britney Spears by L.A. Superior Court."
But just in case Eardley can come up with an argument to sway U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez, Britney's father has cooked up plenty of reasons to block the switcheroo.
Jamie Spears' camp-arguing that Britney isn't capable of hiring counsel and, therefore, Eardley is "an attorney without a client"-filed a motion Tuesday objecting to Lutfi & Co.'s "brazen-but vain-attempt to strip a probate court of jurisdiction before it could enter Orders" prolonging the conservatorship.
Eardley's "well-pleaded allegations" do not present an issue of federal law, the filing states, adding that any charges on Eardley's part that Jamie Spears "supplements" his daughter's medication "disregards the fact that the Probate Court has not granted Mr. Spears medical powers and that medications therefore do not fall within the scope of the conservatorship."
In response to Eardley's contention that Britney's "unenviable status of having virtually no privacy in her life" and her "suffocating confinement" at the hands of her conservators could affect the effectiveness of her treatment, the conservators argue, once again, that the probate court did not grant Jamie authority over the troubled pop star's medication.
"Because there is no logical relationship between Britney's fame and the alleged federal interest to be addressed," Eardley's concerns about Britney's medical treatment under her father's care are a moot point.
The conservators are also asking that Eardley foot the bill for this latest round of attorneys' fees, because he "lacked any reasonably objective basis" for filing the removal request.
But it's the fact that Britney was previously ruled incapable of hiring her own lawyers that will likely prove the largest obstacle to sending the case to federal court.
"In Britney's case, the commissioner revoked her power to retain her own legal counsel," Kevin Whittaker, a San Francisco-based litigation attorney who's not involved in the Spears case, told E! News last week. "Oftentimes, the conservatee can retain their own legal counsel. This wasn't the case with Britney. So, the new attorney's claim to be her legal counsel will be found invalid."
A reason why Jamie's camp is arguing that papers filed on her behalf listing Eardley as counsel of record don't amount to a hill of beans.
Jamie and attorney Andrew Wallet were named temporary conservators of Britney's multimillion-dollar estate on Feb. 1, the day after she was admitted to UCLA's hospital for evaluation.
Although Britney was spotted dining out with her dad in Hollywood over the weekend, sources close to her have said she is anxious to extract herself from his legal grip.
She has not met with Eardley in person, Sands said, but they have spoken several times. And sources close to the situation have said Britney has been in contact with Lutfi-through an intermediary.
Lutfi, who has continued to avoid being served with the Spears family's restraining order against him, "is at war with Jamie," a Spears insider told E! News Friday. "This is his first strike."
Britney Spears's self-styled manager Sam Lutfi was served with a restraining order on Thursday ordering him to stay at least 250 metres away from the singer and barring him from communicating with her, according to court documents.
more........
Restraining Order Against Lutfi Extended
A federal judge has extended a restraining order against Britney Spears' pal Sam Lutfi by nearly a month.
The judge on Thursday 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, an attorney for Spears' father, wrote that "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 yards away from Spears and her home. It was set to expire Friday.
EXTRA.........
A federal judge late Thursday extended until March 17 a temporary restraining order preventing Britney Spears's pal Sam Lutfi from approaching the troubled pop star and her family, according to court papers
The two-page order by U.S. District Judge Phillip Gutierrez was in response to a request by Spears's father Jamie Spears, who is co-conservator of her $100 million estate.
Jamie had asked the judge to extend the temporary restraining order - served on Thursday and set to expire a day later on Friday - until the judge rules on an unusual civil rights challenge to the conservatorship.
The temporary restraining order could be extended at a March 17 hearing. But Jamie Spears would have to be able to successfully serve Lutfi with notice of the hearing; in the past, Jamie has complained that Lutfi apparently attempted to dodge being served.
The temporary restraining order, which forbids Lutfi from getting within 250 yards of Spears, her homes and her family's homes, alleges: "Mr. Lutfi has drugged Britney. He has cut Britney's home phone line and removed her cell phone chargers. He claims to control everything."
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