Britney Spears’ father fights singer’s effort to remove him as conservator

The ongoing battle between pop singer Britney Spears and her father over control of her finances continues to percolate.

>> Read more trending news

On Friday, Jamie Spears defended his actions in a court filing, The New York Times reported. His legal brief was a reaction to her daughter’s request to expedite the hearing to remove him from the conservatorship status he has had since 2008, the newspaper reported.

Jamie Spears had agreed to a fast track for another hearing but objected to the effort to remove him.

In Friday’s court filing, Jamie Spears’ attorney, Vivian Lee Thoreen, wrote that he would agree to move the hearing date from Sept. 29 to as early as Aug. 23, the Times reported. But she fiercely opposed the assertion by Britney Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, that Jamie Spears needed to be swiftly removed from the arrangement.

“Mr. Spears has dutifully and faithfully served as the conservator of his daughter’s estate without any blemishes on his record,” Thoreen wrote. “Mr. Spears’ sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her.”

Last month, a California judge granted Britney Spears’ request to hire her own lawyer in her conservatorship battle. At the time, Spears also said she wanted to bring formal charges against her father over his role in the conservatorship.

>> Britney Spears can hire own lawyer, judge rules

Jamie Spears has alleged that his daughter’s personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, told him in a telephone call that his daughter is “mentally sick” and wanted to place her under a 5150 psychiatric hold, Variety reported.

Montgomery denied the statement and again asked Jamie Spears to relinquish his role running his daughter’s finances, the website reported.

“Ms. Montgomery implores Mr. Spears to stop the attacks,” Montgomery said in a statement. “It does no good; it only does harm. We all need to focus on one thing, and one thing only -- the health, well-being and best interests of Britney Spears.”

The alleged phone call occurred on July 9, 2021, CNN reported.

“On July 9, 2021, I received a phone call from Ms. Montgomery,” Jamie Spears says in the documents, which were obtained by Variety. “During our call, Ms. Montgomery sounded very distraught and expressed how concerned she was about my daughter’s recent behavior and overall mental health. Ms. Montgomery explained that my daughter was not timely or properly taking her medications, was not listening to the recommendations of her medical team and refused to even see some of her doctors.”

According to Jamie Spears’ filing, his daughter’s former court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, and Montgomery were responsible for admitting Britney Spears into a mental health facility in 2019, the Times reported. Britney Spears has said she felt forced into going to the facility, according to the newspaper.

Montgomery’s attorney, Lauriann Wright, said when Britney Spears entered the facility, Montgomery was a case manager of the conservatorship and hired by Jamie Spears. Wright argued that Montgomery did not have the authority to admit the singer into the facility, the Times reported.

©2021 Cox Media Group