In court documents obtained by ET, the singer’s team says there is 'overwhelming evidence mandating the immediate suspension of Jamie.'
Britney Spears' legal team is once again calling for the immediate removal of her father, Jamie Spears, as the conservator of her estate. The news comes after Britney's team filed a third supplement to their petition on Monday, requesting to immediately suspend Jamie as his daughter's conservator after learning of his alleged surveillance of Britney.
In court documents obtained by ET, Britney’s team claims there is "overwhelming evidence mandating the immediate suspension of James. P. Spears, by no later than Sept. 29, 2021," including engaging in "horrifying and unconscionable invasions of his adult daughter’s privacy."
The docs cite multiple sources that they claim support Jamie’s removal, including FX and Hulu's documentary, Controlling Britney Spears, the second part of The New York Times Presents Framing Britney Spears doc, as well as Britney’s testimony in June.
Alex Vlasov, a former employee of the security firm Black Box, who worked with the singer for nine years, claimed in the unauthorized documentary that Britney's conservators bugged her phone and home, monitoring and surveying the usage of her mobile and life indoors. Alex supported his claims with alleged emails, text messages and audio recordings he had over the course of his employment. He also alleged that Britney's conservators, including her father, asked him how to put parental controls on her iPhone and sync the device's iCloud with an iPad.
"It really reminded me of somebody that was in prison,” Alex said during his sit-down interview. "And security was put in a position to be the prison guards essentially."
Britney’s attorney, Mathew S. Rosengart, told ET in a statement, that the alleged surveillance of the 39-year-old pop star is a "violation of her privacy rights" and an example of "the deprivation of her civil liberties."
"Unauthorized recording or monitoring of Britney’s private communications — especially attorney-client communications, which are a sacrosanct part of the legal system — represent an unconscionable and disgraceful violation of her privacy rights and a striking example of the deprivation of her civil liberties," Rosengart explained. "Placing a listening device in Britney’s bedroom would be particularly horrifying and corroborates so much of her compelling, poignant testimony. Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines and he must be held accountable."
Not only is Britney's legal team alleging that Jamie "captured attorney-client communications with her prior lawyer," the petition also cites the documentary's allegation that Jamie and others "secretly captured audio recordings from her bedroom," including private communications with her sons, Sean and Jayden.
"Mr. Spears has crossed unfathomable lines. While they are not evidence, the allegations warrant serious investigation, certainly by Ms. Spears as, among other things, California is a 'two-party' consent state," the docs further state.
"Regardless of the outcome of the allegations, what cannot be genuinely disputed is how deeply upsetting they are to Ms. Spears and if nothing else, they magnify the need to suspend Mr. Spears immediately. To be clear, his suspension will not impede the ultimate termination of the entire conservatorship, as Mr. Spears will be required during the transition to work with his temporary successor. The only thing Mr. Spears will 'lose' is something he should not have ever had—the ability to further harm his daughter," read the court documents.
A lawyer for Jamie said in a statement to the New York Times: "All of his actions were well within the parameters of the authority conferred upon him by the court. His actions were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney, and/or the court. Jamie’s record as conservator — and the court’s approval of his actions — speak for themselves."
It is unknown if the court that is overseeing the singer's conservatorship was aware or approved the surveillance.
As far as Jamie being removed as her conservator, Britney has made it clear in the court docs that her father is not only to be removed from the conservatorship, but that she would like the conservatorship to be terminated quickly. Additionally, Britney is refusing to work as long as Jamie remains her conservator.
"Ms. Spears will not work while her father remains a conservator and that every day that goes by with him as conservator," read the petition. "Every day and every hour—is one in which he causes his daughter anguish and pain."
Meanwhile, Jamie has filed legal documents protesting Spears' team's request that certified accountant John Zabel be the temporary conservator of the singer's estate instead of her father. In the docs, Jamie questions Zabel's qualifications to take on such a role, stating that he's "not a licensed professional fiduciary."
Jamie is not convinced that Zabel has "the background and experience required to take over a complex, $60 million (approx.) conservatorship estate on a temporary or immediate basis."
Furthermore, Jamie's legal team states in the docs that the court's focus should be dismantling the conservatorship altogether, as he, Britney's team -- including her personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery -- have all officially requested.
The docs note, "Whatever remains to be done to wind down the conservatorship of the estate should be done as efficiently as possible, by Mr. Spears, who is familiar with the assets of the conservatorship estate, and the attention each asset requires, and without an abrupt, needless and expensive transfer of custody of the assets to a complete stranger to the conservatorship.”
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