LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A judge Wednesday said she is taking under submission a bid by Britney Spears' attorney to depose two management executives and have them produce documents regarding any knowledge they may have about the singer's father allegedly spying on his daughter.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny had issued a tentative ruling July 27 stating that Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group's Robin Greenhill and her boss, company CEO Lou Taylor, must sit for depositions, but after hearing arguments from lawyers for the company and Spears, she said she wants to mull the issues further.
Spears lawyer Mathew Rosengart — who also revealed Wednesday that his client's father, Jamie Spears, was himself recently deposed — asked that subpoenas be issued after Greenhill was named in statements by former Spears security staffer Alex Vlasov in a New York Times documentary, "Controlling Britney Spears."
Vlasov said in the documentary that even in the singer's home, everything she asked for was monitored and recorded. Greenhill previously said in a sworn statement that no one at Tri Star ever suggested spying on the 40- year-old performer and that she knew nothing about a hidden electronic surveillance device allegedly being put in the singer's bedroom.
Rosengart told the judge Wednesday that Tri Star previously acted as the singer's business manager and also filled roles as her CPA and tax preparer. Jamie Spears got the firm involved in his daughter's business affairs when he needed a $40,000 loan, Rosengart said.
"Mr. Spears' misconduct is front and center and whether they like it or not, they are front-line witnesses," Rosengart said of the two Tri Star executives.
Rosengart told the judge he agrees with most of her tentative ruling, but he urged her to take another look at some issues she said were moot.
Tri Star attorney Scott Edelman said the company is not opposed to the depositions, but wants them to be focused on an accounting period encompassing the year 2019.
Outside the courtroom after the hearing, Rosengart declined to discuss the contents of Jamie Spears' deposition. The judge denied his request to close the courtroom briefly so he could discuss new information that he said is currently confidential.
Additional hearings in the case are scheduled for Oct. 26 and Dec. 7, with the latter date to include discussions of Jamie Spears' request for attorneys' fees.
Penny terminated the Spears conservatorship on Nov. 12 of last year. Jamie Spears had been overseeing his daughter's estate since the conservatorship began in 2008, and the singer accused him and others involved in the conservatorship of abusive and restrictive behavior that included limiting her movements, forcing her into unwanted therapy sessions and giving her unneeded medications.
Jamie Spears' attorney has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, including allegations that listening devices were planted in the singer's home.