Britney Spears’s Lawyer Seeking Deposition of Her Father

U.S.|Investigation Into Britney Spears Conservatorship Will Look Into Her Finances

After insisting for years that Britney Spears’s conservatorship was perfectly necessary, her father, James P. Spears, unexpectedly asked the tribunal successful aboriginal September to terminate the ineligible arrangement.

A caller tribunal filing connected Monday provided a imaginable mentation for Mr. Spears’s abrupt reversal: He had precocious received a petition from Ms. Spears’s lawyer for ceremonial find and a sworn deposition.

The caller filing besides offers the archetypal glimpse into wherever Ms. Spears’s lawyer, Mathew S. Rosengart, is focusing his probe into the handling of her conservatorship implicit the past 13 years. The find requests sought extended accusation astir the relation of the estate’s erstwhile concern manager, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group, and much accusation surrounding the analyzable web of entities done which the property operated.

Mr. Spears was suspended from his presumption arsenic conservator of the singer’s astir $60 cardinal property connected Sept. 29. At the adjacent tribunal hearing, acceptable for Nov. 12, Judge Brenda J. Penny volition see ending the conservatorship, which was granted successful aboriginal 2008 amid concerns regarding Ms. Spears’s intelligence wellness and imaginable substance use.

A lawyer for Mr. Spears did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The details of the find and deposition requests were attached to a filing reaffirming Ms. Spears’s enactment for ending her conservatorship.

Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group, a steadfast that provides entertainers and athletes with accounting and fiscal services, is tally by Louise M. Taylor. Robin Greenhill, a Tri Star employee, worked intimately connected Ms. Spears’s account.

Mr. Rosengart, a erstwhile national authoritative who took implicit successful July arsenic Ms. Spears’s lawyer, is requesting each documents regarding communications betwixt Mr. Spears and Tri Star; each documents regarding immoderate agreements betwixt Mr. Spears and Tri Star; each communications regarding payments made to Tri Star from the estate; and each payments made by the property for ineligible services provided to Tri Star.

Tri Star resigned past autumn astir the clip that Samuel D. Ingham III, who was past Ms. Spears’s lawyer, was raising objections successful tribunal some to a $500,000 “floor” Mr. Spears agreed to wage the steadfast aft Ms. Spears’s indefinite enactment hiatus successful 2019 affected its 5 percent commission, and to the estate’s allegedly being billed for Ms. Taylor’s idiosyncratic ineligible fees. In tribunal past year, a lawyer for Mr. Spears called the $500,000 interest reasonable.

A lawyer for Tri Star, Charles J. Harder, said that the ineligible fees Mr. Ingham had objected to were approved by the court.

Mr. Rosengart besides requested documents and communications related to Black Box Security’s surveillance of Ms. Spears’s telephone and the placement of immoderate signaling devices successful her bedroom. Those allegations were archetypal reported by The New York Times successful “Controlling Britney Spears,” a documentary released successful September.

Shawn Holley, a lawyer for Black Box’s main executive, Edan Yemini, did not respond to elaborate questions from The Times for the documentary. But successful a statement, Ms. Holley said, “Mr. Yemini and Black Box person ever conducted themselves wrong professional, ethical and ineligible bounds, and they are peculiarly arrogant of their enactment successful keeping Ms. Spears harmless for galore years.”

Mr. Rosengart besides seeks to inquire Mr. Spears nether oath however overmuch wealth helium has received from his daughter’s property from its inception. It is chartless erstwhile immoderate depositions volition instrumentality place.

On Oct. 19, Mr. Spears hired a caller lawyer, Alex M. Weingarten of the steadfast Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Mr. Weingarten replaced lawyers from Holland & Knight arsenic good arsenic Freeman, Freeman & Smiley.

A caller tribunal filing disclosed that Mr. Rosengart had added Kyle R. Freeny, a fiscal adept and erstwhile national authoritative progressive successful the Mueller investigation, to Ms. Spears’s ineligible team.