Britney Attorney Sues Anna Nicole’s Estate
It was only a matter of time before the respective train wrecks of Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith collided.
Sorrell Trope, the Los Angeles family law specialist currently repping Britney Spears in her custody showdown with Kevin Federline, is suing the estate of the late Playmate over an unpaid bill for services rendered during the Dannielynn paternity circus.
The claim, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last Wednesday on behalf of his firm, Trope and Trope, asserts that Smith’s estate owes about $162,000 of a $280,000 tab. (View the lawsuit.)
Trope and Trope toiled for Smith from October 2006 to March, per the court documents. The firm’s tenure ended a month after Smith died from an accidental overdose of prescription medication at age 39.
The complaint was delivered to Bruce Ross, counsel for Howard K. Stern. Stern is the executor of Smith’s estate, which is currently in probate.
Ross and Trope did not return phone calls seeking comment.
For now, the sole heir of Smith’s estate is daughter Dannielynn. Stern has filed paperwork seeking 6 percent of any money the estate gets from her late oil tycoon husband, J. Howard Marshall II. Marshall died in 1995, leaving behind a $500 million fortune that his heirs and Smith, his wife of 13 months, are still contesting.
Last month, one of Smith’s ex-boyfriend’s, Mark “Hollywood” Hatten, also went to court seeking a portion of her assets.
Hatten is currently in the midst of a six-year sentence at the Pleasant Valley State Prison for threatening Smith with a knife and assaulting one of her neighbors. He was also accused of stalking Smith after their relationship flamed out but was acquitted of the charge.
Source: E!Online