The Bald Truth: Britney “Lawyer” Overrruled!
By Art Harris, (c)www.artharris.com, all rights reserved
At first blush, it read like some civil rights lawsuit sparked by Mississippi Burning…with a predictable cast and plotline —gutsy lawyer demands federal judge stand up for underdog client by unlocking some hellish, redneck jail.
Only this was Beverly Hills and the lawyer Jon Eardley was somewhat of a mystery, coming from nowhere to rail in court papers on behalf of a $100 million pop star he was claiming for a client…Britney Spears…trying to conjure the same kind of sympathy you might imagine a real civil rights lawyer would invoke for a poor black sharecropper kicked around for trying to register to vote.
Yet, Eardley argued, that like a typical civil rights victim, La Brit was being held virtual hostage, financially controlled, over-medicated, held against her will by father, Massuh Jamie, the temporary co-conservator of her estate—all in violation of her civil rights.
Pulheeeeze!
But that charge bit the dust Tuesday when U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez sent the case back to the probate court that ruled Feb. 6 the pop star wasn’t even capable of hiring her own counsel, and rebuked Eardley for asserting what appeared to be a questionable, even bogus, case.
“Mr. Eardley fails to explain why he can bring this claim for her in the first instance. He cannot,” said the judge in his three page ruling. “Mr. Eardley had no authority to remove the case from state court. He is neither a party nor a defendant. While he claims to be Ms. Spears’s attorney, the proate court found…that she was incapable of retaining her own counsel.”
It was a victory for Brit’s Dad, named as a temporary co-conservator of his troubled daughter and her estate after Brit was locked away on an emergency hold at a UCLA Medical Center psyche ward last month.
As a co-conservator, Dad calls the shots these days, as a sort of temporary warden of Brit’s world, and he’s walking tall and barring those who presided over , or enabled her downhill slide, like Lufti, and a horde of paparrazi. He’s also filed a burglary report about missing items from her house.
Her probate lawyer Jeffrey Wexler filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court for almost $43,000 in legal fees he said he’d rung up to fight what he was calling Eardley’s bogus claim to move the case there.
But Eardley told the Associated Press that he had actually spoken briefly with Britney before the phone was “yanked” from her hand. He rocked the Brit world when he filed a complaint in federal court on her behalf, blasting the conservatorship as violating her civil rights and asking a federal court to hear the case, not a state probate court. But that was not to be.
As for the civil rights angle, Wexler argued “no such race based allegations can be made,” since all parties are white. He called Eardley’s charges against Brit’s Dad “completely false and … deliberately misleading.”
According to Wexler, “Mr. Eardley’s claim that Lynne Spears’ declaration is perjured and his descriptions of Mr. (Sam) Lufti (fired ex-manager) as Britney’s ‘best friend’ speaks volumes as to where Mr. Eardley’s allegiances apparently lie.”
Wexler’s firm of top probate lawyers, who also represent the estate of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn, says it has billed Spears $42,898.50 to fight Eardley’s motion to transfer the case to federal court.
While Eardley asked that “adequate measures (be) taken to secure (Britney’s) right to privacy from undue publicity,” her father had already won the court’s okay to seal medical records and more. Wexler says that such faux concern for her privacy flies in the face of Lufti’s publicist who on Feb. 14, distributed copies of Eardley’s filing to remove the case to federal court.
britney-2-26-08-court-remands-britney-pays2.pdf
brit-2-20-08-exhibit-a-2-14-08-probate-transcript.pdf
February 27th, 2008 at 2:45 am
[...] The Bald Truth wrote an interesting post today on The Bald Truth: Britney âLawyerâ Overrruled!Here’s a quick excerpt By Art Harris, (c)www.artharris.com, all rights reserved At first blush, it read like some civil rights lawsuit sparked by Mississippi Burning…with a predictable cast and plotline —gutsy lawyer demands federal judge stand up for underdog client by unlocking some hellish, redneck jail. Only this was Beverly Hills and the lawyer Jon Eardley was somewhat of a mystery, coming from nowhere to rail in court papers on behalf of a $100 million pop star he was claiming for a client…Britney Spears…tryi [...]
February 27th, 2008 at 5:11 am
$43,000 to fight a lawsuit brought on by Lufti and his eager beaver lawyer comrade! I hope Britney’s money gets safely tucked away for her future and her sons’ future.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Art this feels like a lot of agendas and wrangling to get control of her and her money. the lawyers are standing in line to get a slice of the pie and she has to pay k fed’s lawyers as well.If he has the kids he has an income that he was not entitled to with out them.
My radar has been twitching with this.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Thank for article .It was like B.S. was kidnapp by her family???
Father is temporary co-consevator right???
Temporary mean wat???? 1 2 3 years?
I would like somebody explain to me wat mean temporary….in B.S. case
February 27th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I am of the feeling,that unless Britney Spears mother and father,take her out of hollywood for a period of time.i do not trust them,This child needs to be away from all the reporters,cameras,she needs to eat right,sleep right,and get her head on straight,to care for her little ones.i do not understand why this is not being done,no one could think straight,if every time you went out ,there are camera and reporters watching every move,they say poor Btitney,yet they make fun of her,torment her,and do not let her go to the store in peace,OUT OF HOLLYWOOD.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
ART, THANKS FOR YOUR UPDATE REPORTS ON ALL THE LATEST NEWS ON THE STARS. I REALLY ENJOY READING YOUR ARTICLES BECAUSE YOU DON’T WRITE ALOT OF MUMBLE JUMBLE BUT WRITE THE FACTS. I DON’T CARE WHAT THOSE BOOZOOS ON THAT OTHER WEB SITE SAYS I THINK YOU’RE THE BEST REPORTER AND WRITER.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Art, Wonderful news! I hope that Osama ‘Sam’ Lutfi (not Lufti, I made the same mistake Art!) goes to jail for drugging and stealing from Ms. Spears for almost a year. What a sick and slimy guy he is!
I am so disgusted when I hear comparisons made claiming it’s ‘just like Anna and Howard’. How off base can people get? The sad truth is, Britney Spears was being controlled by this sick man. Howard Stern was never in control of Anna Nicole Smith. No where is that more evident than in The Anna Nicole Show. Howard K. Stern was madly in love with Anna Nicole and still is. He tolerated her being with other men and many other things and stayed loyal and true to her. He still is. If anyone was in control in that relationship, sadly it was Anna Nicole. No doubt Howard wonders to this day if he should have ‘put his foot down’ or ‘tried harder’. And how sad that he has to hear all the ongoing commentary on his relationship with his wife Anna by people who have not even met either of them.
As always Art, thank you for your reporting, it is the best online or anywhere else.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
My question is are they ever going to let Britney handle her own affairs or will she be forever keep under lock and key.Seems like they are locking things down so no one but her father knows what is going on.At any rate this is what she needs right now at least.Hope in the not to distant future sheis ok
February 28th, 2008 at 1:42 am
This ia real simple, having more knowledge about this case than I care to I do know the facts. THE ONLY REAL FRIENDS THIS GIRL HAS IS HER MOM AND DAD! It doesn’t get any easier than that!
She cannot trust the lawyers and she cannot trust these miserable fucks of life who have been eating on her for the last few years. It is almost like watching maggots emerge from the bloated festering belly of a dead dog along the interstate. Mom and Dad will protect her…….
John J. Nazarian, Private Investigator
February 28th, 2008 at 2:21 am
I just hope that the parents have learned a lesson from Britney’s problems, and ensure that the younger sister won’t follow in the same path.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:15 am
If Britney is able to recover and handle her affairs, good for her. But if she does not fully recover and ends up with the type of people with whom she associated, she could lose everything and end up at soup kitchens and sleeping by the railroad tracks. It is not far fetched.
For her parents to take over and help her out, they are doing the right thing but it is a great disruption in their lives. Everyone becomes accustomed to his/her daily routines, duties and responsibilities, which will have to be put on hold.
February 28th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Margie:
I, too, get very upset with the comparisons made between Howard/Anna and Britney and Osama. The people who insist on blaming Howard for Anna’s problems, are simply conveying to the world the extent of their stupidity and ignorance. They operate like piranhas, sharks and crocodiles simultaneously encircling a defenseless, wounded fish.
February 28th, 2008 at 9:09 am
This should be a warning to people whom put there children out there to make money and what can happen.My daughter tells me britney was about 9 years old when she first appeared to television.That had to be her parents doing,the same with her sister, to make money .Someone that young cannot make that decision on her or his own. If anyone backtracks some of the child stars a lot of them fell and never made it back up..Some did and i would immagine it was because of a strong support system and family that protected and stodd by them instead of using them for monetay gain.Look ar the Jacksons and what has befallen them.These children ,and I know Britney is no longer a child but she was when they first put her out there,need to have a childhood not a bunch of cameras in their faces..We have beauty contest for small children,this is for the parents only,the Ramsey case in point.that child should have never been put out there with makeup etc to make her look better.At her age back when I could not believe how she was made to look.These kids have no choice in the matter
February 28th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Mr. Nazarian:
Your comment on 2/28/08 at 1:42 a.m. is perfect!
February 29th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Mr Nazarin and Beverly you both are so right it screams however no one is listening so that is the sad part. The reality is thousands of wannabee actors actresses and rock stars never make it in Hollywierd because of the bottom feeders that feed them drugs and get them hooked on something.Its business and drugs make tons of money
I believe that they should take that red bull off the market because of its effects on people as well and when you mix that drink with sudefed a decongestant which some sports stars use to get a burst of energy you are playing with fire.
Brittany constantly was seen with this drink in hand, with whatever else was in that drink that Sam put in it is just a number of any drugs used to control her.
Her only saving grace is her family no one else. As far as comparing this with Anna Nicole Smith she was never diagnosed with bi polar disorder, she had pain from all her surgeries which made her take drugs to eliviate it very different than depression. Depression is a disease pain is subjective….
March 1st, 2008 at 11:46 am
I am glad you are covering this story Art.
Re the comparisons between Howard & Osama…the one thing they have in common is that people rushed to judge both of them based on the allegations of the mothers. People are wanting Osama hung even though he’s not even charged with anything, and other than Lynn’s accusations, I see no evidence that he stole from Britney or anything like that. this is really another example of the fact that most Americans don’t respect a person’s right to be presumed innocent, unless/until they are proven guilty.
Re Eardley, I’m glad he’s trying to do something. I find it frightening how people think it’s ok that her parents are handling her affairs and that she’s not been allowed to hire a lawyer to fight the conservatorship. If she is driving around in daddy’s car (like she was yesterday) she clearly is not “gravely disabled” and if she can drive, she’s certainly able/capable of speaking to a lawyer of her choosing.
If she’s well enough to drive a car why did Jamie waste $43 000 fighting it?….why didn’t he just say, ok she’s no longer “gravely disabled” and I’m happy to step down. They can’t control her simply because they don’t like the way she’s spending her money (I suspect they don’t feel there’s been enough going their own way of late).
I’m no Britney fan, I think if I met her I probably wouldn’t like her much, but I am a human rights fan, and whether I like her, or how she dresses, goes to starbucks etc should have nothing to do with anything. She is entitled to choose a lawyer to represent her in the proceedings…a commissioner should not be making a blanket declaration that she is incompetent to do so, based on evidence that she was not even allowed to challenge, and apparently based on the evidence of a lawyer (who also obviously has a bit to gain by staying in the case and in the spotlight). If she is now competent, no order of the Court should be allowed to stop her from getting advice and representation in a matter that so seriously impacts on her human rights.
March 1st, 2008 at 11:57 am
Beverly…
I agree…when ma & pa took over I was shocked to see her out on her daily paparazzi runs in no time again and really wonder about mom & dad’s motives here. If she really is as sick as they claim, it makes no sense to be parading her in front of the paps every day in that state. And she’s been flashing herself again, so why would dad keep sending her out to do that day after day…it’s not like he wouldn’t have heard about it. Isn’t it that sort of behaviour that they said was crazy to begin with? So, why is dad ensuring she gets in front of a pap frenzy each day? Are they more concerned about her getting back to making money than they are about her mental well being, or is she not as sick as they make out?
And i think it’s sad how the public have fallen for their “all Brit’s problems are Sam’s fault” line the parents are selling. What about when they sent her to Promises last year, the umbrella incident, hair shaving, flashing and partying with Paris, quickie Vegas marriages…how could you all fall for this “it is all sam’s fault” stuff when you probably read all those stories as/when they happened and know Sam wasn’t anywhere near Brit back then?
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:41 am
Naz…EXACTLY! Britney CAN’T have control of her own life right now. Look where that landed her before? Sure, freedom and all that, but don’t blow anymore sunshine up my ass.
If you read the RO, Lynne Spears tells how Lutfi would tell Brit “Take this, do this, etc. if you want to see your babies” Well, that got her 7 weeks of NOT seeing her babies! Dad in control? BOOM, she’s seeing her babies bi-weekly if not more by now. Proof is in the pudding! I am so sick of the comments in the media about her needing her ‘freedom’! Wake up people!
Oh, do you know HOW Lutfi came to be in Britney’s company? Almost a year ago, he phoned Britney, claiming to be a private detective working for Kevin Federline. Said he had some ‘important info’ for her. She sent her assistant to meet with him. The asst. says it quickly became clear that the man had nothing. However, in her paranoid state, she believed him and the saga started there. As you all know, he slowly but surely removed people from her life. He made himself the center of her world, her safety net. I’m sure Mr. Nazarian is very familiar with this kind of man because of the help he provides to so many women. I imagine he encounters these ‘svengalis’ on a pretty regular basis. I think there’s only one way to deal with them. And I bet that costs extra!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:13 am
Naomi:
There is no way you or anyone else not familiar with someone suffering from mental illness will ever understand how it affects the person, the person’s family and everuone else involved. Also, there is just so much the parents can do to keep Britney safe from even herself. They cannot lock her up in the house and throw away the key. Hopefully, she will drive safely. Whatever happened in the past while she was driving, such as running over people’s feet, was the people’s fault for hanging onto her car and refusing to allow her to drive away safely. Actually, they deserved to have their foot driven over!
Just as it is difficult to stop the elderly from driving when they no longer can drive safely, the same goes for someone who is not thinking rationally.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:23 am
P.S.
Naomi:
Keep my “2″ cents above in mind when you see someone driving questionably. We all should refrain from showing displeasure too strongly when we do not agree with the next guy’s (or gal’s) driving habits. Motorists fail to realize what consequences their angry gestures at other drivers may ellicit.
Recently, Britney’s bodyguard was booted out and she drove off. I wonder what advice he may have been giving her!
March 4th, 2008 at 8:35 am
Mr Naz I’ll take your word on this matter but I still don’t think her parents are doing the right thing in letting her drive all over etc they need to get her away to some place quiet and peaceful untill she gets herself together,not let her run around by herself as has been stated here.I also think the courts need to watch this matter closely to monitor how well she is doing and when to give her back her rights and let her take control of her life again.
March 6th, 2008 at 10:00 am
John Nazarian, please keep your filthy words to yourself. If anyone else said what you said, it would have been deleted.
People don’t care one whit about another’s sensibilities. There is never ANY excuse for using that kind of language. It’s too bad people have come to accept gutter language as the norm. I think it’s time they all crawl out of the gutter.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Can someone please tell my what exactly did Brit do that caused her to lose all of her civil rights? Is she nuts? Yes.
Did she have a meltdown over her kids? Yes. What about Michael Jackson, Nick Nolte, Danny Bona(the redhead child actor, Brando’s son? She is the only person to lose her rights. What about the people sleeping on the streets and eating from garbage bags; they don’t lose their rights. Was it flashing her privates? That how alot of no talent actresses make their money(Lindsey, Paris, Kim).
For all you who love her parents read Rolling Stone Mag. Most of Brit’s memories of her Dad was of him being drunk. Maybe if he be sober Lynn couldn’t have used Brit. Lynn started training Brit for stardom by age 2. Lynn lies to get anything she wants. Brit lied about her age to Disney to get a job. Had breast implants as a teen, until she got over developed and had them removes. Was sexually active at 14(but she’s a virgin). And what mother allows a 16yr old to smoke right in front of her? Both Brit and JL smoke. If I was 16 and my parents caught me smoking I wouldn’t be able to sit for a week.
I’m not saying Brit didn’t need help, I just see people so much worse than her and they still have their civil rights.
March 8th, 2008 at 3:01 am
Mary:
Civil rights is getting to be such an ugly word it needs to be replaced. Britney is not being punished, she is being prevented from destroying her life.
Maybe Britney’s father was a drunk and a rotten husband to Lynne and neglectful to his children. MAYBE. I have no way of knowing. If he is sober now and is able to take good care of his daughter, better late than never.
Whatever the ultimate cause of Britney’s decompensation, the reality is that it happened and she is now in need of those who love her to make sure she is not swallowed by the whales surrounding her.
Some problems lurk in the background of a young person, waiting for that magical time to strike and destroy a youngster’s life. Certain mental illnesses come full force and strike boys in their early teens, while they strike girls a few years later.
My son, who suffers from that horrible illness, was striken full force in his teens. He is now 36 and his life is destroyed. My son’s father, my ex, was married previously and had a son. That son with his first wife also was striken in his teens. I have no idea what the mental health status is of his other children with his third wife.
Those people who eat from dumpsters are obviously ill and untreated. Yes, indeed, they have all their civil rights intact. Would you like to walk in their shoes? I doubt it.
Those who are able to protect their loved ones who cannot protect themselves, do the best they can, despite all the miscomceptions and cruelty directed at them by the know-it-all, good-for-nothing people who think they have all the answers. The best wake-up is for those “knowledgeable” people to be blessed with a child of their own suffering from the same illness.
You can google and learn all about illnesses, both physical and mental. Since the mind controls the body, robbing a person of his/her mental capacity is the worst cruelty imaginable.
March 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
P.S. to Mary:
Nothing unkind or negative I said is directed at you personally, so do not take offense.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Isabel:
you missed the question. What was so extreme that she lost her civil rights? Your son has problems but the courts would never let you have control. I saw nothing that was so extreme that Brit lost everything. You and I may not like it but people have a right to be strange. When she had her meltdown she did not harm herself or her child. And her meltdown was that she saw a bruise on her child and was upset about his safety. Her behavior may be strange but that’s not illegal.
March 13th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Mary:
Just to make it clearer. The court yanked me off as my son’s guardian because they wanted someone to rubber stamp whatever was less problematic for the state, as there are no relatives available. They appointed a state employee, a social worker to be his guardian. The first two were so incompetent that I raised hell in court. The third one was excellent but for whatever reason, they switched to another one who is mediocre.