Last Friday night, Katy Perry was victorious. After a lengthy legal battle over rights to a Montecito estate, the pop star officially filed the disputed property deed in California on Friday, May 17, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The saga began in July 2020, when Perry and her partner, actor Orlando Bloom, were looking for a new home in the SoCal enclave to accommodate their growing family; At the time, the “Firework” singer was pregnant with their daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom. Perry’s business manager, Bernie Gudvi, made a $15 million offer on a house in his name (topping a competing offer from journalist and Kennedy descendant Maria Shriver in the process). The estate’s owner, entrepreneur Carl Westcott, signed a contract accepting the off-market offer before attempting to cancel the sale days later. Perry and Westcott then sued for ownership of the property, which includes a swimming pool and two guest houses.
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Westcott claimed he was not of sound mind when he signed the contract to sell the approximately two-acre estate, which he had purchased a few months earlier for $11.25 million, because of a battle with Huntington’s disease and the painkillers he was taking. recent back surgery. Perry’s team claimed that Westcott simply changed his mind after failing to find another home in the competitive local market. Late last year, the court sided with Perry, stating in its ruling that “Wescott has not presented any compelling evidence demonstrating that he lacked the capacity to enter into a real estate contract.” .
Even after nearly four years of trial, the legal drama is not yet over; Perry has paid $9 million for the house so far. A second phase of the trial, scheduled for July, will determine the damages owed by Westcott, which could total up to $6 million, or the remaining balance owed by Perry.
Westcott has since moved into a residential mental health facility, the WSJ reports. Perry and Bloom purchased a neighboring $14.2 million compound in October 2020. Time will tell if the Grammy-nominated musician keeps both properties.
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This isn’t the “Dark Horse” singer’s first real estate deal tied to legal drama: In 2015, Perry was involved in a separate case involving the sale of a Los Angeles convent property. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to sell the 1920s-era property to Perry for $14.5 million, while the nuns who once lived on the premises, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, instead sold the convent to restaurateur Dana Hollister before Perry’s deal was finalized. The parties went to court to find out who had the right to sell. Ultimately, the archdiocese was granted this right, although it is not clear who owns the eight-acre property today.
