Britney Spears’ lawyer has accused the singer’s father of extortion in the legal battle over his conservatorship of her estate.
That’s according to new court documents filed on Tuesday, which state that Spears’ father, Jamie, reportedly asked for some $2 million in payments in exchange for his removal as her conservator.
Mathew Rosengart, Spears’ lawyer, called the attempt a “non-starter,” adding “Mr Spears is obligated to step down without condition and without seeking to extract anything further from his daughter.
Indeed, Mr Spears should resign now and if he does not, this Court must suspend him on September 29th.”
Earlier this month, Spears’ father conceded for the first time he would relinquish control over his daughter’s $60 million estates because he did not believe a public battle would be in her best interests.
But he gave no date for his departure and said he first wanted to get the latest bills for his attorneys’ work approved by the court.
Under conservatorship rules, Britney pays for all costs incurred by her and others.
Lawyers for Jamie Spears did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest filing.
He has repeatedly said that he has acted only in his daughter’s interests, to rebuild her finances and protect her from people trying to exploit her.
The next court hearing in the contentious case is set for Sept. 29.
