The legal fighting between Britney Spears and dad Jamie Spears isn't quite over. Jamie Spears has asked his daughter to foot his legal bills related to "winding up" her conservatorship—and her attorney isn't having it. The scathing statement from the singer's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, per Variety:
- “(Jamie) Spears reaped many millions of dollars from Britney as a conservator, while paying his lawyers millions more, all from Britney’s work and hard earned money,” he says. “The conservatorship has been terminated and Mr. Spears was suspended ignominiously. Under the circumstances, his petition is not only legally meritless, it is an abomination." He adds that the request adds to the "pain" Jamie has caused Britney. "This is not what a father who loves his daughter does.”
Jamie's legal team sees it differently, of course, arguing in a court petition that he "stepped up" to form the conservatorship back in 2008 to protect her. "It would be contrary to public policy if Jamie’s years of dedication to protect his daughter ... could subject him to personal bankruptcy and ruin defending baseless claims." The petition adds that the request is in Britney's interests, because it will speed up the dissolution of the conservatorship and "allow Britney to take control of her life as she and Jamie desire."
The new dispute comes on the heels of another damning report about the conservatorship, this one in the New York Times. It raises questions about whether Louise M. Taylor, Britney's former business manager, improperly enriched herself while the singer was under her father's control. Taylor owns Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group, which gave Jamie Spears a $40,000 loan shortly before the conservatorship was put in place. He then made Britney a client of Tri Star, which had few high-profile clients before her. "It reeks of conflict of interest," the president of a group that represents conservators says of the loan. The story estimates Jamie made $6 million from the conservatorship. The arrangement would go on to "generate millions" for Tri Star and transform it into a lucrative agency, per the Times. (More Jamie Spears stories.)