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Judge Dismisses Britney Spears Lawsuit for Lack of Evidence

By Robyn Hagan Cain on November 02, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Sam Lufti claims he was Britney Spears' manager during some of Brit's darkest hours. We're talking about the head-shaving, beating-an-SUV-with-an-umbrella days that made Kevin Federline look like a model of parental stability.

The problem with Lufti's claim is that he doesn't have a signed contract.

Maybe Lufti's the kind of manager who engages in gentlemen's agreements: handshakes over drinks, my-word-is-my-bond deals. If so, he learned a very expensive lesson in Los Angeles Superior Court this week. Thursday, Judge Suzanne Bruguera dismissed the case after hearing two weeks of evidence in Lufti's claims against Britney's parents, Reuters reports.

Lufti took Britney's "parents and caretakers" to court for libel and breach-of-contract. Lufti sued Britney's mother, Lynne Spears, for libel and her father, Jamie, for allegedly hitting him shortly before Jamie was granted conservatorship. He also had claimed he was owed a 15 percent share of the Britney's earnings during the alleged contract period.

While Lynne Spears claimed in her book, Through the Storm, that Lufti drugged Britney's food and cut her phone lines, Lufti tearfully told the court that he had tried to keep Britney away from drugs and the paparazzi, Reuters reports. The court, however, was not convinced.

After Lufti's team rested its case Tuesday, Judge Bruguera agreed with defense attorneys that there wasn't sufficient evidence to send the claims to a jury, reports the New York Daily News.

Judge Bruguera announced on Thursday, "I really thought long and hard. It's the right thing to do, so I am going to do it," before dismissing the case.

Lufti said he will appeal.

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