If I had a nickel for every time Katy Perry was in real-estate court, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right? In this edition of “Property Battles,†the “California Girls†singer and her husband, Orlando Bloom, are involved in a lawsuit over a $15 million Santa Barbara home they purchased in 2020. The octogenarian plaintiff in the suit, Carl Westcott, alleges he was on painkillers at the time he agreed to sell the home to the pair, saying he was of “unsound mind†to make any major decision. When he realized he had cut a deal under the influence of drugs he was taking after a back surgery, he moved to cancel the sale with his Realtors, but the couple wouldn’t budge. Westcott, father-in-law to former Real Housewife star Kameron Westcott and founder of 1-800-Flowers, filed the lawsuit against the couple’s business manager, Bernie Gudvi, in an attempt to put a stop to the sale. Perry and Bloom are not named in Westcott’s filing. In Perry’s countersuit, she is asking for the property, $2.7 million to cover the cost of a rental in the area, and $3.21 million in damages for the lost rent she would have earned if the sale had gone through, Bloomberg Law reports.
Below is everything you need to know about the case that’s riveting Vulture’s legal desk, Perry’s second after successfully beating a case brought by nuns over the 2018 purchase of a convent. An 89-year-old nun collapsed and died after the judgment. Anyway …
What are the two parties fighting about?
The Real Housewives relative and founder of the billion-dollar flower-delivery company purchased the Santa Barbara home on May 29, 2020, for $11,250,000. According to the filing, Westcott agreed to sell the home two months later when Perry and Bloom’s business manager, Gudvi, offered $15 million for the off-the-market property. The plaintiff signed the deal on July 15, 2020, flipping the property for a cool $3.75 million profit. He tried to stop the sale a week later. Why wouldn’t he want to simply walk about with the money? Well, Westcott claims he was under the influence of painkillers prescribed following spinal-fusion surgery and suffered from complications of normal cognitive decline when signing. He wanted to live in the place “for the rest of his life.†He wrote in an email to Berkshire Hathaway that he “lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature and probable consequences of the contract†and wanted to continue living in the house. Westcott then formally sued Gudvi to halt the sale.
“We want justice for his dad and to defend his honor the best we can,†Kameron Westcott said of her husband and his father to Radar Online. “He’s such an honorable man. He’s worked his entire life and deserves to stay in his home. It’s sad Katy is trying to take that from him.†Neither the Perrys nor Carl Westcott has been able to occupy the home since, per Bloomberg Law.
What’s happened at the trial so far?
A lawyer for Perry’s business manager argued that Westcott was “more than rational†when making the decision to sell the home, according to Bloomberg Law reports. During the first day of the trial, lawyers said Westcott spoke with brokers both before and after his surgery. Plus, they argue, he was shopping for other homes in the days after the deal.
When did the trial begin?
The juryless proceedings began on September 28. The bench trial will be heard in two phases: During the first round of arguments, the judge will decide if Westcott was in fact incapacitated when he agreed to sell the home to Perry and Bloom; the second will see the judge determine whether damages are owed.
When will Perry take the stand?
Perry is expected to take the stand as early as September 29.