The legal battle between pop icon Katy Perry and 84-year-old millionaire Carl Westcott is currently in progress. Westcott, a Texas entrepreneur and the father-in-law of “Real Housewives of Dallas” star Kameron Westcott, alleges that he was tricked into selling his estate to Perry while he was mentally incapacitated. Perry, whose legal name is Katheryn Hudson, and her business manager, Bernie Gudvi, are the defendants in the case. Perry’s fiancé, actor Orlando Bloom, is also mentioned in the lawsuit. The couple reportedly intended to raise their daughter, Daisy Dove, in the disputed property.
In May 2020, Westcott bought an eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom estate in the Santa Ynez foothills in Montecito, California for $11.25 million. The area is a popular residential choice for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, and Ellen DeGeneres. Perry’s offer to buy the property came less than two months after Westcott’s purchase and was $3.75 million more than what Westcott had paid.
Westcott, who suffers from Huntington’s Disease and related cognitive impairment, underwent a six-hour spinal surgery just four days before Perry’s agent presented him with a contract to sell his home. Westcott claims that he was in severe pain and under the influence of strong painkillers when he signed the contract, which he alleges impaired his understanding of the contract’s terms and consequences.
Westcott also signed a separate contract with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, California Properties, agreeing that Gudvi would act as a dual agent for the buyer and seller. However, Westcott claims that he was unable to fully comprehend the implications of the contract due to his diminished mental state.
Westcott attempted to cancel the contract after regaining his faculties. He claims that he received a letter from Perry expressing her and Bloom’s fondness for the house and their plans to raise their child there. Despite Perry’s willingness to pay him $3.75 million more than his original purchase price, Westcott declined her offer. He later received a letter from a lawyer representing both Gudvi and Perry, stating that Perry was not willing to back out of the purchase and that Westcott was obligated to complete the sale.
If Westcott can convince the court that he lacked the mental capacity to enter into a contract with Gudvi, the contract could be nullified. This would dissolve the contract as if it never existed and could potentially result in costs or damages being assessed to one of the parties to rectify any persisting unfairness.
The trial, which began on September 28, is proceeding without a jury. Perry is expected to testify and is seeking lawyers’ fees, $2.7 million to cover the cost of a similar rental in the area, and $3.21 million in damages for lost rent. If Perry can convince the court that the sale contract is enforceable and that monetary damages are insufficient to compensate her for the loss, she may be entitled to a legal remedy known as “specific performance,” which would require the contract’s terms to be carried out exactly as agreed upon.
This is not Perry’s first real estate dispute. In 2015, she was involved in a legal battle with a group of nuns and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles over the ownership of a gothic Tudor estate. Perry won the lawsuit over the $15.5 million sale.