Britney Spears conservatorship: Jamie Spears’ fate in case to be decided today

Britney Spears conservatorship: Jamie Spears’ fate in case to be decided today

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears might be one step closer to freedom. 

The mega star’s legal battle with her father Jamie Spears will be back in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET) for a highly anticipated hearing that could see the embattled dad removed as conservator to the singer’s estate. 

Britney, 39, has been petitioning Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny to remove her dad as her conservator and temporarily appoint certified public accountant John Zabel to take over while her attorney works to dissolve the arrangement entirely. 

In a Monday court filing, Britney’s A-lister attorney Mathew Rosengart again asked the court to “immediately” suspend Jamie from his role by Wednesday after a bombshell New York Times report alleged he hired a private security team to monitor her conservations, including those she had with her attorney and in her bedroom. 

“Unauthorized recording or monitoring of Britney’s private communications—especially attorney-client communications, which are a sacrosanct part of the legal system—represents an unconscionable and disgraceful violation of her privacy rights and a striking example of the deprivation of her civil liberties,” Rosengart told The Post in a statement. 

Britney's attorney Mathew Rosengart asked the court to Britney’s attorney Mathew Rosengart asked the court to “immediately” suspend Jamie Spears from his conservator role by Wednesday.AP/Nick Ut

“Placing a listening device in Britney’s bedroom would be particularly horrifying, and corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony. Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines.” 

Rosengart asked Penny to make a decision on whether or not to suspend Jamie during the Wednesday hearing, and the judge could also make a decision on whether Zabel is fit to take over. 

On Tuesday, Jamie’s attorneys filed papers arguing Zabel isn’t “highly qualified” to oversee the pop icon’s massive, $60 million fortune because he’s had his own financial woes in the past.

“Based on publicly available information, it appears that Mr Zabel is not well suited to manage the Conservatee’s $60 million (approx.) estate as he was scammed out of over one million of his own money in a fraudulent real estate investment project, despite being referred to as a ‘highly qualified’ certified public accountant with ‘substantial’ experience in finance,” the filing stated. 

Rosengart fired back that Zabel’s qualifications are “in stark contrast to Mr. Spears” who is “a reported alcoholic and gambling addict, with zero financial background or experience in financial matters” and has “previously filed for bankruptcy.” 

Jamie Spears and Britney SpearsJamie Spears is accused of “unauthorized recording or monitoring of Britney’s private communications.”InstagramBritney Spears with her father, brother, and mother in 2006.Britney Spears with her father, brother, and mother in 2006.Chris Farina/Corbis via Getty Images

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Jamie filed a petition to dissolve the conservatorship altogether, saying the circumstances have changed to such an extent, grounds for the restrictive legal set-up may no longer exist.

Penny will hear arguments on the petition Wednesday and if she were to grant it, it would make the requests to suspend Jamie and appoint Zabel moot. However, Rosengart has emphatically and repeatedly asked the court to first remove the star’s dad before moving forward with an outright termination of the arrangement.

He’s argued Jamie’s request to terminate the agreement is “a subterfuge, designed to avoid the stigma of being suspended and its consequences” and he plans to petition the court to dissolve the conservatorship “this fall, as it is formally wound down.”

The Free Britney America group holds their rally in Washington on, September 25, 2021.The Free Britney America group holds their rally in Washington on, September 25, 2021.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesBritney Spears' lawyer, Mathew Rosengart said that Britney Spears’ lawyer, Mathew Rosengart said that “Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines.”VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

It’s unclear if the singer will be present for the hearing. While she did unexpectedly testify during the last two major hearings in the case, where she called for her father to be jailed and said the conservatorship has been used to “ruin” her life, her attorney declined to comment when asked if she’d be attending.