Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are preparing for their day in court!
On Tuesday, DailyMail.com revealed the pop star and her hubby have been in a legal battle with Carl Westscott, an 83-year-old veteran, over a $15 million Santa Barbara home. The details are pretty sticky — back in July 2020, the elderly founder of companies such as 1-800-Flowers signed a real estate contract to sell his home to the couple. But here’s where things get wild!
Westcott claimed at the time he was recovering from a major back surgery, and was under the influence of opioids and painkillers. Because of this, he alleges he wasn’t in the right state of mind and had no idea what he was actually signing!
Related: Russell Brand Calls Ex Katy ‘An Amazing Person’ After Text Message Divorce
According to the complaint filed by Westscott, he was “of unsound mind”:
“Upon discharge from the hospital, Mr. Westcott was prescribed at least two opiates in pill form that he was to continue taking for pain, which he took as prescribed several times each day. The combination of his age, frailty from his back condition and recent surgery, and the opiates he was taking several times a day rendered Mr. Westcott of unsound mind.”
His back surgery was on July 11, and three days later on July 14, representative of Katy and Orlando Bernie Gudvi, presented Westscott with an offer to buy the eight bedroom, 11 bathroom house. The offer was more money than he’d originally paid for it, so he signed the brokerage firm’s contract. But when more days went by, he changed his mind!
Just a few days after he originally signed the documents, agreeing to sell his home, his lawyers stated in the complaint he “started to feel mentally clear again” and realized what he’d done.
It’s been reported the Westscott Communications founder suffers from Huntington’s Disease, which he’s apparently had since 2015, and at the time of the sale he was 80 years old. This rare disease attacks the parts of the brain that controls voluntary movement, and one of the symptoms is Dementia — with this on top of his medication, he and his family feel as though he wasn’t in a good state of mind when he signed the papers. His lawyers have even argued he was “unable to understand the nature and probable consequences of his actions”.
On July 22, he sent an email to the dual agent for both himself and the couple Berkshire Hathaway, and said he no longer wanted to sell his house because he was “in the final years of his life and cannot sell his home”. This email wasn’t enough to convince Katy and Orlando, though! On July 24, their lawyer shot back with a letter of their own, which read:
“The letter stated, in sum and substance, that the lawyer represented not only Mr. Gudvi, but also Mr. Orlando Bloom and Ms. Katheryn Hudson (professionally known as Katy Perry) on whose behalf Mr. Gudvi had always been acting. The letter advised Mr. Westcott that his clients Mr. Bloom and Ms. Hudson are not willing to walk away from purchasing Mr. Westcott’s home and he is obligated to complete the sale.”
Oof…
Westscott’s lawyers are arguing the contract should be “voidable” due to his mental state at the time, but it’s going to take some arguing in court to settle that matter! Sadly, however, the 83-year-old is bedridden and mentally incapacitated, so he won’t even be able to attend the trial. His family is going to step up and try and get control back of the $15 million mansion.
The details of this situation are all too similar to the singer’s 2015 legal battle with Sister Rita Callanan and Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, when she purchased a Los Angeles covenant they’d been living in since the 70s. It was originally argued they had no right to sell the property, and in 2018 the 89-year-old Sister Holzman even collapsed and DIED mid-court — but in the end, the Teenage Dream songstress got the Order of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At the time, the surviving Sister Callanan said Katy “has blood on her hands”.
This is such a wild situation — the fact they’ve been at it for three years already is just… ! We’ll have to wait and see what happens at the trial that’s due to take place next month…Sister Holzman
What do U think, Perezcious readers? Should Katy and Orly have done him a favor and let him live out his days in his beloved home? Or is all fair in love and real estate? Let us know in the comments (below).
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
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