Pop singer Britney Spears has been removed as defendant from a lawsuit filed by a Japanese man under a court order to stay away from her.
Spears and two of her security guards were sued by Masahiko Shizawa for causing him “extreme emotional distress” stemming from a confrontation with the guards outside her home in October 2002.
Besides Spears, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper removed one guard, Mike Zandi, as a defendant. She let stand the claims against guard Robert Feggans.
Shizawa claims Zandi and Feggans intimidated him outside Spears’ home, and that Feggans pointed a gun at him.
Shizawa has been ordered to stay at least 300 yards from Spears, who contends he sent her several love letters, e-mails and faxes, as well as photos of himself and notes saying, “I’m chasing you.”
The native of Yokohama, Japan, filed suit against Spears and her guards weeks after that ruling last fall. He has also sued the city of Los Angeles for allegedly taking away his dignity during a search of his hotel room.