Judge Puts Lawsuit Against Britney Spears and Parents On Hold

The following italicized article is from www.dailynews.com:

judge has put a hold on a lawsuit by Britney Spears' former self-professed manager against the pop star and her parents pending the outcome of an appeal of an earlier ruling in the case by the singer's mother.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Zaven V. Sinanian issued his order Thursday, nearly two months after he declined to grant Lynne Spears' motion to be taken out of the case filed by Osama "Sam" Lutfi. Lutfi alleges she made false statements in a tell-all book.

Sinanian also ordered all parties to try to resolve the case in mediation. He set a status conference for March 8.

Lutfi's lawyer, Bryan J. Freedman, downplayed the delay in the case.

"The stay was agreed upon to allow time for Lynne Spears' appeal of her loss of her motion to strike Lutfi's lawsuit," Freedman said. "I fully expect that after she loses her appeal she will understand the reality that the only issue left will be how much the damage award against her will be."

In his 13-page ruling handed down in July, Sinanian found that lawyers for Lutfi had established a "prima facie claim for defamation, assuming the statements were made falsely" by the pop star's mother, Lynne Spears.

Lutfi's suit maintains that Lynne Spears' book, "Through the Storm, A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World," contains false information, including that Lutfi admitted he threw away Britney's phone chargers and disabled her house phones in an attempt to isolate her from her family.

Lutfi's lawsuit also alleges that the singer's father, Jamie Spears, punched him in the chest at the entertainer's home in January 2008 and that the singer herself still owes him money for management fees.

Lynne Spears' lawyer, Michael Adler, argued in court documents that the claims by Lutfi for libel and defamation should have been dismissed because they interfered with her right to free speech. He also asked the judge to throw out an allegation of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Adler noted in his court papers that some of the statements in Lynne Spears' book recount -- often word for word -- what she said in a defamation- proof court declaration in favor of the issuance of a temporary restraining order to protect her daughter against Lutfi.

But in rejecting Adler's motion in its entirety, Sinanian, who had the case under submission for six days, said there is evidence that Lynne Spears made statements with "reckless disregard for the truth."

The Lutfi suit was filed Feb. 3, four days after Britney Spears was granted a temporary restraining order against Lutfi, her 36-year-old former boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley, forbidding all three from having contact with her, her parents and her two sons.

The order was later extended until 2012 against Ghalib first, then later until the same year against the other two men, as well.

Lutfi has appealed the order.

Source: LA Daily News