Judge ends case against Britney Spears' parents

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bruguera said an attorney for Sam Lutfi hadn't proven any of his allegations in the case that centered on events before the singer's public meltdown more than four years ago.

Lutfi's side rested its case Tuesday, but Bruguera agreed with arguments by attorneys for Spears' father and her conservators that there wasn't sufficient evidence to send the claims to a jury.

Lutfi had sued Lynne Spears for libel and the singer's father, Jamie, for allegedly hitting him at the singer's mansion in an incident shortly before Jamie Spears and others were granted control over the singer's life. Lutfi also had claimed he was owed a 15 percent share of the singer's earnings, but Bruguera disagreed.

Lutfi left the courtroom without speaking to reporters, and attorneys on both sides of the case declined to comment.

The case centered on many of Britney Spears' darkest moments, including a pair of psychiatric hospitalizations that led to her father being named her conservator. Her fiance, Jason Trawick, was added as a co-conservator earlier this year. The arrangement is overseen by a probate judge who had directed them not to allow the singer to appear at the trial.

Lutfi's attorney Joseph Schleimer had contended in opening statements that his client was made a scapegoat for Spears' downfall. Schleimer argued Spears' mother lied about claims that Lutfi drugged the singer and isolated her from family. And he said Lutfi's close relationship with the paparazzi was a way to get them to be less unruly and more respectful of the Grammy winner.