Feb 14, 2008 7:33 pm US/Mountain
Conservatorship Over Britney Extended Until March
Father Will Remain In Charge Of Pop Star's Estate, Affairs
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
A Los Angeles court commissioner has extended the conservatorship of Britney Spears.
Commissioner Reva Goetz told Spears' father James and a battery of lawyers Thursday that the pop star will remain under conservatorship until a hearing now scheduled for March 10. The troubled singer's father and an attorney were first named her conservators at the beginning of February.
An attorney for Spears' father also told the court that investigators have spent over 200 hours trying find the Britney Spears' sometime manager and friend Sam Lutfi to serve him with court papers.
The commissioner agreed to reissue a temporary restraining order against Lutfi if he is not served soon.
A temporary conservatorship was granted Feb. 2, 2008 by Goetz, and extended on Feb. 4.
Spears' parents have moved aggressively to take control of their daughter's life since she was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward Jan. 31.
On the same day James Spears won conservator status, his ex-wife, Lynne, successfully applied for a restraining order against Lutfi, his daughter's frequent companion and sometimes manager.
Lynne Spears told the court that Lutfi had treated her daughter like a hostage in her own home, drugged her and took over her finances.
"Sam told me, 'You'd better learn that I control everything,"' Lynne Spears wrote in a declaration filed with the court. "'I control Howard Grossman, Britney's business manager. I control her attorneys and the security guards at the gate. They don't listen to Britney, they listen to me."'
Grossman said that he had no association with Lutfi.
Spears' affairs were placed under a temporary conservatorship after she was taken to UCLA Medical Center on Jan. 31 under heavy police escort. It was the second time in a month she had been taken from her home by ambulance.
Spears was discharged from the hospital against the recommendation of her psychiatrist and her parents' wishes.
Her parents said they were extremely disappointed she was released and they were deeply concerned about her "safety and vulnerability and we believe her life is presently at risk."
Spears slipped out of the hospital unnoticed by the pack of paparazzi that follow her every move in public, but they gave chase later in the day when she left her home behind the wheel of her Mercedes-Benz. She eventually showed up at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Spears' public life has been in a tailspin since she filed for divorce from Federline in late 2006. The swarm of photographers that tail her have captured incidents of bizarre behavior, erratic driving and public meltdowns.
She has lost custody and visitation rights with her sons, Jayden James, 1, and Sean Preston, 2.
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