Katy Perry awarded $1.8 million in legal dispute with disabled veteran
Katy Perry is set to recoup some of her losses on the Montecito mansion which spawned a five-year legal battle with a disabled war veteran.
The pop star has been awarded $1.8 million (£1.3m) in damages by a judge following her business manager's court showdown with Carl Westcott.
She had purchased a sprawling eight-bedroom pad in the affluent area of California, which the likes of Prince Harry and Oprah call home, from the 85-year-old back in 2020.
The 'Dark Horse' singer, 41, got the keys while she was still in a relationship with her former fiancé Orlando Bloom - although the pair have since parted ways - and they intended to raise their daughter Daisy Dove there.
Advert
The couple had planned to renovate the $15 million pad while residing in their Beverly Hills property for the time being - however, the former owner backed out of the deal.
Westcott, who is the father-in-law of Real Housewives of Dallas star Kameron Westcott, claimed that he was 'not of sound mind' when he shook hands on the deal.
The pensioner suffers from Huntington’s Disease, which the NHS describes as an 'inherited condition that affects your movement, thinking and mood', adding that it is incurable and 'gets worse over time'.
Symptoms include difficulty concentrating and planning tasks, memory problems, low mood, depression and anxiety and behavioural changes, while there are a host of possible physical side effects too.
As well as this, Westcott had undergone surgery shortly before putting his home on the market and was taking 'multiple opiate medications' as a result, court documents said.
His lawyers argued that the sale was 'voidable' due to these factors, which obviously didn't go down well.
Westcott's family filed a lawsuit against the Santa Barbara-born star's business manager, Bernie Gudvi, who facilitated the sale for her and Bloom.
But Gudvi ended up scoring a legal victory against Westcott, as a judge ruled in his favour and said there was no 'persuasive evidence that he [Wescott] lacked capacity to enter into a real estate contract'.
Despite Westcott's claims, the court found that he appeared to be 'coherent, engaged, lucid and rational' when he put his name on the dotted line.
Following the result, both parties filed for damages with a hearing taking place in August this year, during which time Perry testified over Zoom.
Now, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner has ruled that the Smurfs star should be awarded $1,842,142.84, according to court documents seen by People.
He landed on this figure after taking into account the rental value of the property during the delayed closing - $2,795,000 - from September 2020 to March 2024.
The judge knocked off the value of retained capital ($1,062,736) and Westcott's lost interest ($149,703.00) while limiting the cost of repairs to $259,581.84, despite Perry reportedly asking for $1,343,401.95.
The court docs explain that after the $15 million sale price was agreed, Gudvi paid Westcott $9 million of this some and retained $6 million.
So, the judge has now instructed Gudvi to deduct the $1.8 million which Perry is owed from the remaining $6 million.
A hearing is reportedly scheduled to take place on 30 December, where Gudvi could challenge the judgement.
But as long as neither party files an objection in the next 10 days, according to Rolling Stone, it seems that the long-running case might finally be reaching a close.
LADbible Group has contacted representatives of Katy Perry for comment.
Topics: Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, US News, Celebrity, Celebrity News, Home
Olivia Burke