All You Need To Know About The Legal Battle Over Katy Perry And Orlando Bloom’s Huge Montecito Mansion:
A $15 million Montecito home is at the center of a nasty case between pop star Katy Perry and Carl Westcott, a Texas millionaire. The house has been sitting mostly empty for the last two years, only a few doors down from Oprah Winfrey, while waiting for a trial that is now going on in a small courtroom in Los Angeles.
In California, the pop star has been in a number of court fights with older residents over the sale of their houses over the past few years. The case is being tried without a jury. It started upon Wednesday and will go on next week. Here is everything you need to know regarding this beautiful house in the middle of Montecito.
In July 2020, A Grammy-Winning Singer Bought A Nine-Bedroom Luxury Home From Westcott:
Now, her name is on a national attempt to change the law to protect the rights of older residents when they sell their homes. This is the first step in the court process.
The safeguarding Elder Realty for Retirement Years Act, as well as the Katy Perry Act, was started by the family of a homeowner who is in a legal dispute with Perry. Its goal is to protect older people with health problems from being taken advantage of financially in real estate transactions.
On one side is Perry’s manager, Bernie Gudvi, who says the Grammy-winning singer bought the nine-bedroom luxury property from Westcott within July 2020, after Westcott voluntarily recruited a real estate broker to sell the house personally oversaw a bidding war between Perry as well as Maria Shriver, a famous journalist, former First Lady of California, as well as member of the Kennedy family.
Westcott Says That His Mental Decline Made It Impossible For Him To Give Clear Permission For The Sale:
Westcott’s side, on the other hand, says that the founder of 1-800-Flowers, who is also the father-in-law of Kameron Westcott of Real Housewives of Dallas, was “incapacitated” when he signed a sale agreement alongside Perry upon July 15, 2020, so the deal isn’t legal.
Westcott says he couldn’t give full consent for the sale because his mind was getting worse and he was taking prescription painkillers after a major surgery. His family has been working alongside him to make sure Perry doesn’t own the house, and now they’re taking the fight to another level alongside this possible law.
Westcott, who was 84 at the time, said that his old age, a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease, and the strong painkillers he was taking after having back surgery upon July 10, 2020, gave him enough legal grounds to call his real estate broker, Cristal Clarke, upon July 20, 2020, as well as say he wanted to cancel the deal.
Nate Smith Was Also Interested In The $13 Million House:
Clarke said in a deposition that Westcott told her at first that he didn’t want to go through with the deal because he was afraid regarding short-term capital gains taxes. Nate Smith, a real estate agent who worked for Maria Shriver, was interested within the house for $13 million at first, but Westcott made a counteroffer for $13.5 million the same day.
Cristal Clarke, Westcott’s real estate agent, testified. She said that Westcott pulled out of the deal after she warned him he might receive more. He also said that his live-in girlfriend at the time had grown attached to the home he bought for $11,250,000 on May 29, 2020, and didn’t want to move.
Perry Has Been Within A Dispute With Older Real Estate Owners Before, But This Is The First Time It Has Gone To Court:
This is not the first time Perry has been in a court fight with old real estate owners who try to stop her from buying their property.
A group of nuns wanted to sell their California land to someone other than the Grammy candidate. They took the singer to court to stop them. Perry won the case in the end, but most people remember it because among of the nuns fell and later died during the hearing.
Westcott Lives In A Health Care Center:
Clarke said in a deposition that Westcott told her at first that he didn’t want to go through with the deal because he was afraid regarding short-term capital gains taxes. He also said that his live-in girlfriend at the time had grown attached to the home he bought for $11,250,000 on May 29, 2020, and didn’t want to move.
Westcott doesn’t show up to the hearing because he now lives within a Texas hospital. His son Court Westcott as well as his wife Kameron were in court Tuesday when Dr. Gary Small, Westcott’s star witness, was being questioned by the other side.
The House Has 9,285 Square Feet And Is Spread Out Over 2.5 Acres:
The house is 9,285 square feet and sits on 2.5 acres. It has views of the ocean and nearby mountains. It has nine bedrooms and eleven baths on one floor. The home has a modern country style, and the vaulted ceilings and features like a gym as well as wine room make it even more luxurious.
There are two islands as well as two cupboards in the large kitchen. In this part of the hearing, Westcott’s lawyers tried to call Perry as a witness, but she said it was too late because she was out of town for work.
Because Westcott Took Too Long To Close The Sale, Perry Lost $3.2 Million:
She will only have to show up if Gudvi won the first half of the two-part trial, which means the contract was upheld. The judge decided last week that the case would then move upon to the question of damages, as well as Perry would be summoned to talk about what she had lost.
Gudvi’s papers say that Westcott’s delay in finishing the sale cost Perry $3.2 million within losses from the sale of her old house and the $75,000-a-month rental of a similar property.
