Former aide and confidant Sam Lufti claimed he was entitled to a large piece of Britney Spears’ earnings. (
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A Los Angeles judge yesterday trashed a lawsuit pressed by Britney Spears’ former confidant, ruling that Sam Lufti didn’t come close to proving his libel and breach-of-contract claims.
Judge Suzanne Bruguera took the extraordinary step of dismissing the suit in the middle of the trial.
Lufti, who had called himself Britney’s manager but whom others viewed as a “gofer,” had rested his case Tuesday.
The judge found it so weak that she tossed it, bringing a shocking end to the trial before the defense put on its case.
“I really thought long and hard,’’ Bruguera said.
“It’s the right thing to do, so I am going to do it.”
Lufti stormed out of court without comment.
He had claimed he was owed 15 percent of Spears’ earnings at the time he claims to have been her manager. Lufti was a constant by Spears’ side in 2007 and 2008.
His lawsuit alleged that the pop tart’s mom, Lynne Spears, defamed him in her 2008 book “Through the Storm.”
She wrote that Lufti nearly destroyed her daughter’s career by taking control of her life and cutting her off from family and others who could have prevented her meltdown. Spears’ downward spiral included strange behavior such as shaving her head.
When Spears’ parents came to her side, Lufti claimed, dad Jamie Spears punched and threatened to kill him.
In the last few years, Britney, 30, has made a breathtaking comeback.
She has produced a string of hit albums and landed a gig as a judge on Fox TV’s “The X-Factor.”
She never attended a day of the trial.
Lufti claimed he knew of Britney’s drug problems and did whatever he could to help — including bringing in dogs to sniff out contraband.
But the first witness, record titan and long time Spears collaborator Barry Weiss, said he barely knew Lufti.
Weiss said he viewed Lufti as not a manager, but only a gofer who handled menial personal favors for Spears.
With Post Wire Services