Jamie Spears' minions finally tracked down Sam Lutfi.
After three weeks of dodging process servers, Britney Spears' former sidekick was officially bestowed with a temporary restraining order barring him from any contact with the Blackout songbird.
Lutfi, 33, was served Thursday at about 11 a.m., as he left his apartment on the west side of Los Angeles, according to court documents obtained by E! News. (View the document.)
The order was immediately requested by Spears' father, Jamie, after he and lawyer Andrew Wallet were appointed temporary coconservators of her estate on Feb. 1.
In an affidavit submitted in support of the restraining order, mother Lynne Spears alleged:"Mr. Lutfi drugged Britney. He has cut Britney's home phone line and removed her cell phone chargers. He yells at her. He claims to control everything—Britney's business manager, her attorneys, and the security guards at the gate." (View the declaration.)
The order, preventing Lutfi (whose full first name is Osama) from having any interaction with Spears or coming within 250 yards of the ex-Mouseketeer or any of her properties, was initially good for 21 days, but may be extended.
At a hearing a week ago, a lawyer for Jamie Spears said her firm had spent more than 200 hours trying to hunt Lutfi to no avail.
"He's intentionally avoiding service," groused attorney Jeryll Cohen. (Cohen apparently wasn't scouring the clubs—Lutfi managed to attend a Paris Hilton party at an L.A. hot spot days earlier.)
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz said Lutf must be served 48 hours prior to a hearing on the order, previously scheduled for Friday. A court public information confirms the hearing is still on the docket for 1:30 p.m.
The commissioner had been willing to postpone if Cohen's crew couldn't find Lutfi, who served as Britney's right-hand man, personal manager and gatekeeper before her meltdown brought her parents back into the picture.
Lutfi's not going without a fight. The tug-o'-war over the 26-year-old Britney between her parents and Lutfi has continued to play out behind the scenes.
Sources have told E! News that Lutfi has been responsible for trying to circumvent Jamie Spears' conservatorship, helping arrange New York-based lawyer Jon Eardley to attempt to have the conservatorship dissolved and the case relocated from Los Angeles Superior Court to federal court on the grounds of Britney's civil rights being violated.
Indeed, the elder Spears suggested Lutfi was pulling the strings in a filing seeking to block the venue change.
Stating that Britney isn't capable of hiring counsel and, therefore, Eardley is "an attorney without a client"—Jamie filed a motion Tuesday objecting to Lutfi & Co.'s "brazen—but vain—attempt." (View the motion.)
So far, the federal judge has agreed, expressing skepticism at Eardley's request. However, the judge did give the lawyer until Mar. 17 to come up with a viable reason. (View the order.)