Legal action brought against singer Britney Spears and her family has been dismissed by a US judge.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bruguera ruled there was not enough evidence to go forward with the trial on allegations of defamation, assault and breach of contract.

The judge said: “I really thought long and hard. It’s the right thing to do, so I am going to do it,” as she announced her decision to throw out the case after hearing two weeks of evidence.

The ruling was a major victory for 30-year-old pop princess Spears and her family, despite damaging and sometimes humiliating testimony that lifted the lid on the singer’s meltdown five years ago.

Sam Lutfi, the self-styled manager of the pop star for a brief period in 2007 and early 2008, had sued Spears’ mother Lynne for defaming him in her 2008 book Through the Storm.

Lynne Spears wrote that Mr Lutfi, 38, controlled her daughter, cut her telephone lines and tried to cut the singer off from her family.

Judge Bruguera also dismissed claims against Spears. He insisted he singer hired him as her manager after they met in a nightclub in 2007, and he was entitled to a portion of her earnings.

The case against Spears’ father Jamie was also thrown out. Mr Lutfi had alleged the father punched him in 2008 while the singer was in a Los Angeles psychiatric ward.

Mr Lutfi said he would appeal the ruling, before leaving the courtroom.

Since her problems, Spears has staged a comeback with world tours, hit albums and a new job as judge on TV talent show The X-Factor.

She did not attend the trial.

[adrotate banner=”38″]