Britney Spears’ And Her Parents Sued By Old ‘Manager’ Sam Lufti
LOS ANGELES- Britney Spears‘ drug addiction terrified her father because of the way that it caused her life to spiral out of control five years ago.
TODAY reported on how worried her father was during her Spears’ meltdown, as well as her current civil trial involving Spears’ old “manager” Sam Lufti.
“Jamie (Spears) was living in constant fear that he was going to look at the TV one day and see Britney was dead,” said Leon Gladstone, Jamie Spears’ attorney.
Gladstone made these comments during the second day of a civil tril that pitted Spears and her parents against Sam Lufti, who was one of Spears’ closest friends back in 2007 and early 2008. Lufti also claimed to be Spears’ manager at the time.
Lufti, 36, is suing Spears for a portion of the money that she made during the time that he acted as her live-in “gate keeper”, when he was the one who determined who saw her during her personal and career meltdown.
In addition to suing Spears for a decent amount of money, Lufti is also suing her parents as well. He claims that Jaime punched him in his chest during Spears’ Los Angeles area home back in 2008, and that Lynne libeled him in her book “Through The Storm” that was published later that year.
Spears’ breakdown was a time of trial for her and her family. During this time period, Spears shaved her head, was put on psychiatric holds twice, lost custody of her children, and was put on her father’s conservator-ship, which gave him control of her health and finances.
Lufti is wanting 15% of Spears income over several months during 2007 and 2008, during the time that he said that he was managing her.
Attorney’s say that Spears made about $800,000 to $1 million per month during that time period.
Lufti had worked at a gas station before he “managed” Spears. The only proof that he has that showed that he was her manager, is a mostly blank contract Lufti downloaded off of the internet, and an oral contract with Spears, said Joe Boxer, the attorney who is representing Spears estate.
“Sam Lutfi never conducted himself as if he was Britney’s manager,” Boxer told jurors. “Mr. Lutfi did not earn a dollar for Britney.”
The pop star did not attend court on Friday and is not expected to attend the trial, but her are expected to testify. The trial will continue next week.