Federal judge extends restraining order against friend of Britney Spears

LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge on Thursday ordered Britney Spears' pal Sam Lutfi to stay away from the struggling pop star.

U.S. District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez extended a restraining order against Lutfi until March 17, when a hearing was scheduled on the matter.

The action came on the same day Lutfi was formally served with the restraining order, which was issued earlier this month by a Superior Court commissioner.

In court papers, Jeffrey Wexler, an attorney for her father, James Spears, wrote that "after three weeks of apparently evading service," Lutfi was served at 11 a.m. outside his Los Angeles apartment.

The original order, which requires Lutfi to stay 250 yards away from Spears and her home, had been set to expire Friday. Wexler had asked for the order to be extended.