EXCLUSIVE: Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are in a legal battle with veteran Carl Westcott after he sold them his $15 million Santa Barbara home while on painkillers after surgery
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are locked in a three-year legal battle with an 83-year veteran over a $15 million home in Santa Barbara.
DailyMail.com can reveal that Carl Westcott, 83, signed a real estate contract to sell his home to the singer in July 2020, claiming he was under the influence of opioids and painkillers after major back surgery.
When the effects of the painkillers wore off days later, Westcott – who suffers from Huntington’s disease – claims he realized what he had signed and canceled the contract.
But the couple’s agents ignored Westcott’s plea and threatened to sue if he didn’t go through with the sale of the eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom property.
Three years later, the trial is now scheduled for later this month.
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom have been embroiled in a legal battle for the past three years with veteran Carl Westcott, 83, over his $15 million Santa Barbara home
In July 2020, Westcott signed a real estate deal to sell his home to the singer, claiming he was under the influence of opioids following back surgery.
The singer’s agents ignored Westcott’s plea to cancel the deal and threatened to sue if he didn’t go through with the sale of the property.
Westcott was 80 at the time of sale and had been suffering from Huntington’s disease since 2015.
The rare disease attacks parts of the brain that control voluntary movement, with one of the symptoms being dementia.
According to Westcott’s complaint, obtained by DailyMail.com, he never listed the property or talked to a real estate agent about putting the 9,285-square-foot home on the market.
Westcott had bought the house in May 2020 and moved in with Perry just two months prior to the sale. He intended to live there as his primary residence “for the rest of his life,” the complaint said.
On July 11, 2020, Westcott was released from the hospital after undergoing major six-hour back surgery.
“On discharge from the hospital, Mr. Westcott was prescribed at least two opiates in pill form to continue taking for the pain, which he took several times a day as directed,” the prosecutor said.
“The combination of his age, weakness from his back condition and recent surgery, and the opiates he used several times a day left Mr. Westcott in an unhealthy mind.”
Three days later, on July 14, Bernie Gudvi, representing Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, presented Westcott with the written offer, which was more money than he paid for the house on May 29, 2020.
The next day, Westcott signed the document prepared by the brokerage firm.
His lawyers claim that Westcott was “unable to understand the nature and likely consequences of his actions.”
Days later, Westcott “began to feel mentally clear again” and realized the weight of his signature on the sales agreement, the complaint said.
On July 22, Westcott emailed Berkshire Hathaway, the double agent for the seller and buyer, saying he did not want to sell his house, describing how he had been under the influence of painkillers, and saying that he was “in the problems’. last years of his life and can’t sell his house.’
“The letter informed Mr. Westcott that his clients, Mr. Bloom and Ms. Hudson, are unwilling to purchase Mr. Westcott’s home and that he is obligated to complete the sale,” the complaint reads.
According to Westcott’s complaint obtained by DailyMail.com, he never listed the property or spoke to a real estate agent about putting the stunning 9,285 sq. ft. home on the market.
The couple’s agents ignored Westcott’s plea and threatened to sue if he didn’t go through with the sale of the eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom property.
Two days later, Westcott received a letter from a lawyer.
In summary, the letter stated that the attorney represented not only Mr. Gudvi, but also Mr. Orlando Bloom and Ms. Katheryn Hudson (known professionally as Katy Perry) on whose behalf Mr. Gudvi had always acted.
“The letter informed Mr. Westcott that his clients, Mr. Bloom and Mrs. Hudson, are not willing to buy Mr. Westcott’s house and that he is obligated to complete the sale.”
His lawyers claim the contract to sell his house is “voidable” due to Westcott’s mental state.
Westcott will not attend the trial because his illness has left him permanently mentally disabled and bedridden.
Westcott’s family is now battling the singer for control of their father’s $15 million estate.
Westcott is a veteran of the United States Army 101st Airborne and is known for his successful entrepreneurial ventures with 1-800-Flowers.
In 2015, Katy had a falling out with elderly Roman Catholic nuns over the sale of a convent in Los Angeles. Sister Rita Callanan (right) and Sister Catherine Rose Holzman (left) lived on the eight-acre property with a 30,000-square-foot Spanish Gothic home until 2011
Perry wanted to buy a historic Los Angeles convent owned by the historic Order of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This isn’t the first time Katy Perry has had legal trouble buying a home.
In 2015, she argued with elderly Roman Catholic nuns over the sale of a Los Angeles nunnery.
Perry purchased the convent in 2015 and paid $14.5 million in cash to Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles.
Sister Rita Callanan and Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, who had lived at the convent since the 1970s, claimed Gomez had no right to sell the property, saying they had sold it weeks earlier for $15.5 million.
But the Los Angeles Archdiocese sued to block the sale, arguing that the nuns were not authorized to sell the property.
A judge in 2016 ruled that the sale was invalid and awarded Perry and the archdiocese damages totaling more than $15 million.
During the 2018 legal battle, Sister Holzman, 89, collapsed and died in court.
Sister Callanan, the only surviving nun who lived in the Order of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, said at the time that Katy Perry “has blood on her hands.”