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Britney Spears' lawyer says he subpoenaed her former management firm to ask how much money it got from her estate

Nov 13, 2021, 09:12 IST
Insider
Mathew Rosengart stands among crowd outside the Los Angeles court house. Ted Soqui for Insider
  • After Friday's hearing, Rosengart told reporters he had issued two subpoenas to Tri Star Entertainment.
  • Tri Star worked as Britney Spears' business manager for part of her conservatorship.
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Britney Spears' lawyer Mathew Rosengart says one of the pop star's former management firms, Tri Star, is refusing to answer questions about payments recieveed during her conservatorship. Speaking with reporters after Friday's hearing (during which Spears' conservatorship was officially terminated), Rosengart said he had issued subpoenas to Tri Star.

"I've also received questions about Britney Spears' business manager, Tri Star, and my comments are going to be brief," Rosengart said. "All I will say for present purposes is this: We were forced to issue two subpoenas to Tri Star Sports and Entertainment because they wouldn't voluntarily cooperate with Britney Spears."

He continued: "Rather than voluntarily complying with those subpoenas, Tri Star refused and they filed a motion to suppress those subpoenas and suppress information that Britney Spears has requested. The most notable question that we asked on behalf of Britney, of Tri Star, is the following, a very simple question: How much money did you take from the estate? How much money did you receive from the estate?"

Rosengart ended his statement by saying he's "not drawing any conclusions right now" but that anyone listening could draw their own "inference" about why Tri Star has refused to answer that question.

Lawyers representing Lou Taylor, who founded Tri Star, and Tri Star did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Singer Britney Spears attends the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Frazer Harrison/BBMA2016/Getty Images

Spears' conservatorship was established in 2008, and Jamie appointed Taylor's firm, Tri Star, as his daughter's estate's business manager in 2009, first for the Circus Tour and then, in 2010, for the estate itself. Taylor's firm dropped the Spears account in November 2020, according to court filings obtained by Los Angeles Magazine.

In an August court filing reviewed by Insider, Rosengart said Jamie Spears approved payments to Tri Star that exceeded the company's payable amount.

"In December 2019, Mr. Spears inexplicably approved a payment to Tri Star in excess of $300,000 above the approximate $200,000 that was supposedly payable to Tri Star at the time," Rosengart wrote. "This $300,000 payment was not due to any extra duties or work performed by Tri Star."

A hearing is currently scheduled for January 19, at which time the finances and fees requested from Spears' financial estate will be discussed.

At Friday's termination hearing, Rosengart and temporary financial conservator John Zabel's counsel asked the court to ensure that Tri Star's counsel could also make the January 19 hearing date, marking one of the first times Rosengart has mentioned the company in court.

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Between now and the January 19 hearing, Zabel is allowed to prepare trust documents for Britney Spears' estate and transfer assets outside her trust, as part of a termination plan filed to the court on Friday by Rosengart, Zabel, and former conservator Jodi Montgomery.

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