Source: www.celebritymound.com
An attorney for Britney Spears said Wednesday that he will not seek an extension for a restraining order against Osama “Sam” Lutfi, but that doesn’t mean the pop star wants her former sidekick back in her life.
“Britney has made clear to everyone that she does not want to be further harassed or contacted in any way by Osama ‘Sam’ Lutfi, now or at anytime in the future,” Spears’ attorney Samuel D. Ingham III said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Lutfi, for the time being, seems willing to go along with those wishes.
He called the AP late Wednesday and released the following statement: “Mr. Lutfi and Mr. Spears have mutually agreed in private that no hearing or order is necessary at this time.”
He declined further comment.
Attorneys for Spears and her father, James, are expected to appear in a Los Angeles courtroom Thursday morning to give an update on the conservatorship. A hearing on a temporary restraining order barring Lutfi from having contact with the pop singer was also scheduled for Thursday. The order issued earlier this year required Lutfi to stay 250 yards away from Spears or her homes.
Lutfi represented one of the strangest twists in Spears’ downward spiral earlier this year. The singer’s mother accused Lutfi – who described himself as a friend and sometime manager – in court papers of keeping Spears a hostage in her own home, drugging her and taking over her finances.
He was a fixture in Spears’ life during a period when the star exhibited erratic behavior, including being photographed without underwear, and occasionally looking dazed in public and had to twice be hospitalized.
Spears’ father has control over his 26-year-old daughter’s personal life and finances.
That power negates the need for a restraining order against Lutfi since James Spears’ role as conservator allows him to decide who sees his daughter, according to Ingham’s statement.
He serves as a court-appointed counsel representing Spears’ interest in the ongoing conservatorship case.
“During the temporary conservatorship, the conservators have the power to insure that Lutfi will not harm Britney anymore,” Ingham wrote.
Thursday’s hearing had originally been scheduled to decide whether the conservatorship should be made permanent, but Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz decided weeks ago that she would instead consider other issues.
It is unclear how long Spears’ affairs will remain under her father’s control, but Ingham wrote that he does not expect her feelings about Lutfi to change.
“If Mr. Lutfi makes any future attempt to contact Britney after the temporary conservatorship has concluded, Britney has made clear she will take all appropriate legal action,” Ingham wrote.
