Katy Perry becomes the owner of this mansion after huge legal battle

Katy Perry is now the official owner of the $15million Montecito mansion that saw her battle it out in court with 84-year-old disabled veteran Carl Westcott for four years. According to the Wall Street Journal , the singer, 39, successfully acquired the massive property through her LLC, DDoveB, on Friday, May 17. The LLC is a nod to Perry’s daughter Daisy Dove Bloom, three, with fiance Orlando Bloom — who she was pregnant with when they were first sold the home in 2020.

In July 2020, Westcott (pictured) had signed a real estate contract agreeing to sell the property to Perry – but later claimed he was under the influence of opioids and painkillers following major back surgery. Westcott, who suffers from Huntington’s Disease, said he only realized what he had signed away when the effects of the painkillers wore off days later and at that point tried to rescind the contract. After a three-year legal battle, a Los Angeles judge ruled against him on November 10, 2023 in the favor of the celebrity couple.

According to People, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner said: ‘Westcott presented no persuasive evidence that he lacked capacity into a real estate contract.’ In a statement to Rolling Stone, Perry’s attorney Eric Rowen said: ‘The evidence shows that Mr. Westcott breached the contract for no other reason than he had changed his mind. We look forward to wrapping this matter up at the scheduled damage trial phase set for February 13 and 14, if not before.’ In the ruling, Rolling Stone also reported that Judge Lipner noted Westcott’s own medical expert was inconsistent in his testimony about his condition.

Perry has also demanded millions of dollars in lost rent from Westcott that they could have charged for the eight-bedroom home. Westcott is a veteran of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne and is known for owning several successful companies, most notably 1-800-Flowers. Westcott was 80 at the time of the sale and had been suffering from Huntington’s disease since 2015. The rare disease attacks areas of the brain that control voluntary movement, with one of the symptoms being dementia. According to Westcott’s original complaint, he never listed the property or spoke to a broker about putting the 9,285sqft home on the market. Westcott had purchased the home in May 2020 and moved in just two months prior to the sale with Perry. He was planning to live there as his primary residence ‘for the rest of his life,’ the complaint states.

On July 11, 2020, Westcott was discharged from the hospital after undergoing a major six-hour back surgery. Three days later on July 14, Bernie Gudvi, who represented Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, presented Westcott with the written offer, which was more money than he had paid for the home on May 29, 2020. The next day Westcott signed the document prepared by the brokerage firm. But his lawyers argued that Westcott was ‘unable to understand the nature and probable consequences of his actions.’ Days later, Westcott ‘started to feel mentally clear again’ and realized the weight of his signature on the sale agreement, the complaint said. On July 22, Westcott sent an email to Berkshire Hathaway, the dual agent for the seller and buyer, saying that he did not want to sell his home. In it, he described how he had been under the influence of pain medication and said he was ‘in the final years of his life and cannot sell his home.’

Speaking to the New York Post , Westcott’s son Chart (pictured leaving court) told the outlet: ‘Where the judge’s ruling may follow the letter of the law, it shows that the law has no spirit. Katy Perry will now have to testify, in person, to receive her ‘damages’. We look forward to her testimony, and to her being confronted with possible sanctions for perjury. Perry has put herself in a box by claiming that she lost years of rental income and is owed damages, which is counter to her sworn statements about wanting to live in the house. We hope Ms. Perry enjoys her pyrrhic victory, as she explains to her fans about twice taking homes from the elderly. Lastly, we wish the judge had spelled our father’s name correctly.’

Perry and Bloom had penned a personal letter to Westcott following the sale of the property in 2020. In it, they said: ‘As you know we are expecting a baby next month and know that this will be the best place to bring her home and raise her.’ The heartfelt note, from ‘Katy and Orlando’, went on: ‘This home will be a respite, one where we will be able to grow together as a family. We have gone through some challenges in the past week, our beloved dog Mighty passed away. With such devastating news, being the lucky people to purchase your home is a shining light to help us get through such a difficult time. We hope you can appreciate that you are turning your home over to a very loving couple, who are expecting their first baby and have nothing but joy at the thought of making their life and future memories there.’

Westcott’s family previously hit out at the couple for ‘attacking the weak’ over their lawsuit. His son said: ‘[Westcott] is in a vulnerable state and they attacked him, they tricked him.’ This isn’t the first time Katy Perry has had legal problems when it came to purchasing a home. In 2015, she was in a battle with elderly Roman Catholic nuns over the sale of a convent. Perry purchased the building in 2015, paying $14.5million in cash to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez.

Sister Rita Callanan and Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, who had lived in the convent since the 70s, claimed Gomez had no right to offload the property, and said they had already sold it weeks prior for $15.5million. But the Archdiocese of Los Angeles sued to block their deal, arguing that it was the nuns who had exceeded their authority. A judge ruled against the nuns in 2016 and awarded Perry and the Archdiocese damages totaling more than $15million. During the 2018 legal battle, Sister Holzman, 89, collapsed and died during a court appearance. Sister Callanan, the only surviving nun who lived at the Order of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, said at the time that Katy Perry ‘has blood on her hands.’

SOURCE: THE DAILY MAIL