Attorney Joseph Schleimer told the panel that Sam Lutfi was trying to help the singer but lost control in a series of events that led to her being hospitalized and placed under a court-ordered conservator. Lutfi is also seeking a share of the singer's fortunes, claiming he had an agreement to serve as her manager in exchange for 15 percent of her earnings.
Schleimer conceded the case would be a complicated one. His opening statements included flashing photos of Spears with a shaved head and striking an SUV with an umbrella. He said one of Lutfi's first actions after being hired as manager was having drug-sniffing dogs search the singer's hilltop home.
"My client was made a
scapegoat for drug abuse and erratic behavior of Britney Spears,"
Schleimer told the jury, most of whom knew of the singer but hadn't
followed her career or personal troubles.
Schleimer
claimed Spears favored amphetamines and that the dogs turned up a
substance the Grammy-winner told Lutfi was probably crystal meth.
"He was terrified of being her manager when she overdosed," Schleimer said.
Jurors
likely won't hear directly from the singer, who remains under a
conservatorship overseen by a judge who has ordered her not to appear
for trial or a deposition. Superior Court Judge Susan Bruguera told
Schleimer during a break that all the accusations he raised during his
opening statement should be supported by evidence that will be presented
at trial.
Schleimer said he would prove them through either "testimony or documentary evidence."
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