Judge ends case against Spears’ parents

LOS ANGELES – Britney Spears’ former confidante and self-professed manager failed to prove his libel and breach-of-contract claims against the singer’s parents and her caretakers, a judge who dismissed the case mid-trial ruled Thursday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bruguera said an attorney for Sam Lutfi hadn’t proven any of his allegations in the case that centered on events before the singer’s public meltdown more than four years ago.

Lutfi’s side rested its case Tuesday, but Bruguera agreed with arguments by attorneys for Spears’ father and her conservators that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to send the claims to a jury.

Lutfi had sued Lynne Spears for libel and the singer’s father, Jamie, for allegedly hitting him at the singer’s mansion in an incident shortly before Jamie Spears and others were granted control over the singer’s life. Lutfi also had claimed he was owed a 15 percent share of the singer’s earnings, but Bruguera disagreed.

Lutfi left the courtroom without speaking to reporters.

The case centered on many of Britney Spears’ darkest moments, including a pair of psychiatric hospitalizations that led to her father being named her conservator. Her fiance, Jason Trawick, was added as a co-conservator earlier this year. The arrangement is overseen by a probate judge who had directed them not to allow the singer to appear at the trial.