The crazy legal drama over the life and times of
Britney Spears is back on after a California appeals court decided that a jury should decide whether her ex-manager
Sam Lutfi -- dubbed a "svengali" to troubled stars like Spears and
Amanda Bynes -- is owed commissions.
It was two-and-a-half years ago when a judge suddenly stopped a trial examining Lutfi's claims against
Lynne Spears, the pop star's mother.
Lynne had written a memoir,
Through the Storm, that
portrayed Lutfi as a master manipulator who secretly drugged Britney,
cut off her communications, managed paparazzi, and before being
dispensed, set himself up as Britney's "gatekeeper."
Lutfi claimed otherwise, saying that he was the one who insisted upon drug tests and that Britney's life was already a mess.
After a few weeks of testimony that fueled gossip reporters with
well-caffeinated salaciousness, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Suzanne
Bruguera cut short the proceeding for various reasons, including that
Lutfi couldn't establish actual malice to support a defamation claim
premised on the allegation that Lynne entirely fabricated statements in
her book.
In an opinion on Wednesday, a California appeals court doesn't
disturb this ruling nor does it reverse the trial judge's determination
of a lack of evidence to support a claim of intentional infliction of
emotional distress.
But Lutfi's breach-of-contract claim is another story.
Britney and Lutfi met in 2007. At the time, he was a "consultant" at a
gas station business. After the two hit it off -- and exchanged
hundreds of text messages -- he began getting involved in her
professional career, accompanying her to a meeting with record
executives.
The pop star wanted Lutfi to be her manager, and according to Lutfi,
he would only accept if he got 15 percent of her income ($800,000 a
month at the time, when she wasn't doing much work), could assemble a
management team and Britney would stop abusing drugs.
The conditions were accepted, he says. Later, Lutfi downloaded an
artist-management contract he found online and gave Britney a copy.
Eventually, the continued drug abuse, the intervention of Britney's parents and a conservatorship pulled them apart.
Lutfi still felt the management contract was breached and that he had
performed services until late January 2008, and in response to the
claim, attorneys for Lynn and the conservators argued that the oral
contract accepted wasn't enforceable. The defendants pointed to shifting
positions about what was allegedly agreed to and the timing of the
alleged deal. Lutfi countered that not every term and condition needed
to be set forth.
"We must determine whether Sam's inconsistent testimony as to the
start date, the right to terminate, and calculation of his fees shows
insufficient clarity of material terms to enforce the alleged contract
as a matter of law," writes appeals court judge Victoria Chavez. "We
find that it does not. As set forth above, it is a factual question for
the jury to determine whether an oral contract was formed between Sam
and Britney, and if so, to interpret the material terms of that
contract."
The judge adds that variance as to dates and terms "do not
fundamentally undermine his claim," adding, "No miscarriage of justice
results from permitting a jury to hear and resolve conflicts in evidence
about the dates or terms of any such contract."
A second argument that Lutfi hadn't shown a meeting of the minds to
support a valid contract -- as Britney was allegedly under undue
influence -- can't stave off another trial either.
"The conservators were required to prove that Sam actively
participated in soliciting Britney's offer to be her manager," writes
Chavez. "Under Sam's version of the facts, he did no such thing. In
addition, the conservators were required to prove that Sam unduly
benefitted from the contract. The facts are certainly in conflict on
this point. According to Sam, he is owed the standard percentage for
management services that he performed during the time in question."
The contract claim will now head back to the trial court for more
proceedings as will an assault claim arising from an allegation that at
one point during the feud, Britney's father,James, punched the
ex-manager with accusations of hurting his family.
Source:http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6502010/britney-spears-legal-dispute-revived-by-appeals-court
