Judge rules Britney Spears does not have to sit for deposition
Britney Spears won a round in court Wednesday when a judge ruled the singer does not have to be deposed by her father's lawyers in the post-conservatorship era, but a lawyer for the elder Spears said he will ask for appellate review of that and two other decisions by the judge.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny affirmed a tentative ruling she issued July 13 when she found that the entertainer's deposition testimony was not relevant to the information sought by Jamie Spears' counsel. The judge said the information could be obtained through written questions to Britney Spears and testimony from other parties.
Britney Spears is challenging an accounting and a fees request and her father's lawyers want to explore her thoughts on the topics and ask her for any relevant documents.
The judge had previously denied Jamie Spears' requests for documents from his daughter on relevance grounds and on Wednesday she also denied his attorneys' request to depose an expert hired by Kroll, a private investigator firm hired by the 40-year-old singer's lawyers to examine the actions of Jamie Spears while he was the co-conservator for years of his daughter's business interests.
Jamie Spears' lawyer, Alex Weingarten, said he will seek an appellate review of all three decisions, saying his client is entitled to the two depositions and the documents under the law.
Weingarten said Britney Spears is where she is today because of the 13- year conservatorship and the efforts of her father.
“Mr. Spears is proud of what he has done for his daughter in protecting her from svengalis, Rasputins and other unscrupulous people,” Weingarten said.
Weingarten said that if Britney Spears testifies in a proposed deposition that she has no relevant documents or information, her testimony would be brief, but he said the singer has posted messages on social media that show otherwise.
However, Britney Spears' lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, said that if Jamie Spears loves his daughter like he says, he will accept the judge's ruling and move on.
“It's what a decent man would do, what a decent father would do,” Rosengart said.
A deposition of the singer would only “re-traumatize her,” said Rosengart, who also attacked Weingarten's comments that the entire Britney Spears court file could potentially be unsealed one day. Rosengart said the unsealing would make public the performer's medical records and other private information.
“What kind of father does that?” Rosengart asked. “It would not only be abominable, it would be legally improper.”