Lawyers for Britney Spears father Jamie are contending that her conservator case shouldnt be transferred from state to federal court.
Washington, Feb 21 : Lawyers for Britney Spears' father Jamie are contending that her conservator case shouldn't be transferred from state to federal court.
They also state that an attorney seeking the move is not even representing the pop singer.
Jamie and the other temporary co-conservator of her estate, Andrew Wallet, filed court papers on 19th Feb calling lawyer Jon Eardley's efforts to move the case "a brazen - but vain - attempt to strip a probate court of jurisdiction ... by an attorney without a client," reports People magazine.
The filing states that Eardley's "well-pleaded allegations" do not present an issue of federal law, and that any charges on Eardley's part that Jamie Spears "supplements" his daughter's medication "disregards the fact that the Probate Court has not granted her father medical powers and that medications therefore do not fall within the scope of the conservatorship."
On Feb 14, the 26-year-old star's pal cum manager Sam Lutfi's publicist filed a petition to transfer the case on behalf of the New York-based Eardley, alleging that Britney's civil rights had been violated by the court's refusal to properly investigate her family's claims that she's unfit to control her finances, choose what company to keep and make various other decisions regarding her welfare.
According to Michael Sands, acting as spokesman for both Lutfi and Eardley, he had filed the documents. But a court commissioner extended Jamie Spears' temporary conservatorship until Mar. 10.
Meanwhile, an L.A. Superior Court spokesperson said that all Britney business remained under their jurisdiction.
However, Britney's conservators have responded to Eardley's contention that Britney's "unenviable status of having virtually no privacy in her life" and her "suffocating confinement" at the hands of her conservators could affect the effectiveness of her treatment, saying that the probate court did not grant Jamie authority over the troubled pop star's medication.
Eardley's concerns about Britney's medical treatment under her father's care are not a valid point "because there is no logical relationship between Britney's fame and the alleged federal interest to be addressed," reports E!Online.
However, the fact that Britney was earlier ruled incapable of hiring her own lawyers will likely prove to be the largest obstacle to sending the case to federal court.
Though the court papers didn't reveal whom according to Jamie was behind Eardley's involvement, but pointed out that Eardley's spokesperson also represents Britney pal Sam Lutfi, now the target of a restraining order by the star's parents.
On 19th Feb., U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez, gave Eardley until Feb. 29 to argue why Gutierrez shouldn't reject the request. If Eardley fails to make a good enough case by then, the matter stays in state Superior Court - with Jamie and Wallet remaining in charge of Britney's affairs and 100 million dollars estate.
For his part, Eardley says, "Judge Gutierrez is one of the most ethical federal judges and is highly respected," reports The New York Post.
ANI