“Britney Spears' mom loses defamation case appeal - Boston Globe” plus 1 more |
| Britney Spears' mom loses defamation case appeal - Boston Globe Posted: 23 Nov 2010 12:28 PM PST LOS ANGELES—A California appeals court rejected a bid Tuesday by Britney Spears' mother to have a defamation claim by the singer's former manager and confidante thrown out. A three-member panel of the Second District Court of Appeal refused to rule that plaintiff Sam Lutfi had such a tarnished image that he could not sue for defamation. Spears' mother, Lynne Spears, had asked the justices to become the first California court to adopt a "libel-proof doctrine" that a person cannot sue for defamation if their reputation is so bad that it cannot be further damaged by potentially false statements. Lutfi sued Lynne Spears and her daughter for libel and defamation in February 2009, claiming he had been falsely accused of controlling the singer and grinding pills into her food during a turbulent period. The lawsuit cited numerous passages from Lynne Spears' book, "Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World," in which she described him as a "Svengali" and "predator." Lynne Spears had asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to throw out several of Lutfi's claims for damages, stating the passages in the book were true and had been widely published. The judge refused, and the appeal was filed. It was the subject of oral arguments Nov. 18, during which Lutfi's attorney noted the book remained widely available. Many of the Lynne Spears' claims had been contained in court filings that led a judge to establish a conservatorship involving the Grammy-winning singer in February 2008. At the time, Lutfi was expelled from Britney Spears' inner circle. The singer's father won a three-year restraining order in 2009 after he said Lutfi violated an agreement not to contact his daughter. The appeals court noted that Lynne Spears' court statements regarding Lutfi's actions and how they were reported by many news outlets made clear they were allegations. "We find that Lutfi's reputation was not so badly tarnished by the allegations in (Lynne) Spears' court-filed declarations as to be immune from further damage," the court opinion stated. Lynne Spears' attorney, Michael Adler, declined comment. Lutfi's attorney, Joseph D. Schleimer, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. Britney Spears remains under the court-ordered conservatorship, which has prevented her from being deposed or testifying in other court cases. Lutfi's defamation lawsuit will now return to Los Angeles Superior Court, where a status hearing is scheduled Feb. 25. © Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Britney Spears reportedly wants sole custody of sons - AZCentral.com Posted: 24 Nov 2010 07:41 AM PST Nov. 24, 2010 06:07 AM Britney Spears wants to care for her children full-time. The 28-year-old singer - who has been under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears since her much-publicized breakdown in January 2008 - has reportedly told ex-husband Kevin Federline she wants to get back custody of her sons, Sean Preston, five, and four-year-old Jayden James, and have the boys live with her and current partner Jason Trawick. Kevin still officially has sole custody of the boys, although the youngsters split their time between both parents. A source said: "It's getting harder and harder for her to hand the boys back to Kevin after each visit. Britney dreams of marrying Jason and having the kids live with them - she'd even like to have more children too. "She won't be happy until the boys are with her full-time. All she wants is to get her life back, without having to ask her dad's permission to do everything." However, Kevin has told his ex-wife - who sees the boys every week - he wants to keep custody of their sons, who live with him and his girlfriend Victoria Prince in Los Angeles. The source added: "Britney and Kevin's relationship is amicable - Kevin likes Jason and knows he's a stable influence on Britney. "He's told her she can visit them every day but there's no way he's handing them over full time." Under the terms of their current custody agreement, Britney pays Kevin $15,000 a month to look after the kids and promised to continue giving him the sum even if he gives the children back, an offer the former dancer refused. The insider told Closer magazine: "At first, Britney thought it was because he was afraid of losing the money, so she offered him an out-of-court settlement, meaning he'd get the money regardless of who the boys live with. "But he's told her he fears she's still too unstable and could go off the rails again." The pop star's conservatorship order could come to an end within the next few months following a meeting she had with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz in October to assess her general wellbeing in regards to making a decision on handing back control of her affairs. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Add Images to any RSS Feed To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment