Attorneys for Britney Spears and Kevin Federline both said they were happy with results of a closed-door hearing on child custody today, but revealed little about what went on.
A Sept. 17 hearing is already scheduled in the case, and Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon set another hearing for sometime in November -- both dealing with Federline's request for more custody time with the couple's two sons, Federline's lawyer, Mark V. Kaplan, said in a brief news conference outside the courthouse.
The November hearing -- Kaplan did not give a specific date -- was scheduled to give both sides more time to gather information in preparation for the upcoming custody fight, Kaplan said.
Kaplan is seeking the depositions of several people in the Spears camp, including the pop singer's assistant, former bodyguard, former manager and former nanny.
Spears, 25, and Federline are the parents of Sean Preston, who turns 2 on Sept. 14, and Jayden James, who will be 1 on Sept. 12. The couple were divorced July 30.
Kaplan said Federline, 29, wants the half-and-half child-custody arrangement changed, because the two boys are "isolated from risks" when they are with his client.
In the interim, both Federline and Spears will continue to have equal custody time with the boys, Kaplan said. But he confirmed Federline wants additional custody privileges.
"He wants as much custody time as he can get," Kaplan said, adding that he was pleased with today's developments.
Just before Gordon closed the hearing, Spears' lawyer, Laura A. Wasser, said she was told by the county Department of Children and Family Services that they had completed an investigation into custody matters in the case.
The probe dealt with whether the boys were receiving proper dental hygiene while in Spears' care, according to the celebrity Web site TMZ.com.
Before the hearing began, Gordon said a lawyer from the County Counsel's Office, representing the DCFS, was scheduled to appear, but had not shown up. The hearing went forward without the DCFS attorney.
Wasser said later that the DCFS lawyer's presence was not needed.
"I don't think there was anything for them to appear about," Wasser said.
Asked whether the closed hearing dealt with positive or negative news for Spears, Wasser replied, "It went very well."
Kaplan would not confirm whether Wasser's statement about the DCFS investigation being complete is accurate.
"I don't know if that's true, I don't know if that's untrue," Kaplan said.
Kaplan and Wasser both said they wanted to make permanent an order Gordon issued July 30 sealing the child custody and support records.
Gordon has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 14 to give a lawyer for People magazine and NBC4 television the chance to argue that at least some of the documents should be made public.
Kaplan denied reports that Federline is more concerned about increasing his spousal support than time with his boys.
"This has nothing to do with money," he said. "It never has."
Spears filed papers Nov. 6 to end her two-year marriage to dancer and fledgling rapper Federline, citing irreconcilable differences.
Spears' court papers stated that she and Federline separated Nov. 5, the same day she showed off her slimmed-down, post-baby figure on David Letterman's talk show.
Spears checked into an addiction treatment center in February. About that time, Federline asked for an emergency hearing regarding custody of the boys, but later canceled it.
The couple wed Oct. 6, 2004. The marriage was Spears' second, coming eight months after she ended a 55-hour Las Vegas union to a childhood friend.
The singer, known for such hits as "Baby One More Time," "Oops ...I Did It Again" and "Toxic," first found fame as a member of "The New Mickey Mouse Club" in the 1990s.
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