Katy Perry's house battle with 84-year-old veteran inspires new bill called Katy Perry Act
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity, US News, Money, Politics
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Taylor Hill / Contributor/Family handout
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity, US News, Money, Politics
A new bill called the Katy PERRY act has been launched in response to Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom's suit with a veteran.
Perry and Bloom are tied up in a legal battle with Carl Westcott - the man who sold them their $15 million house back in July 2020.
According to court documents, Westcott - aged 84 - sold the Santa Barbara house to the celebrity couple when he was heavily medicated on 'several intoxicating pain-killing opiates' and actually 'did not want to sell his home'.
Advert
The 84-year-old is also reported as having been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease - a genetic brain disorder - in 2015.
Several days before the proposed contract to sell his home was presented to him on 14 July, 2020, Westcott underwent 'major six-hour' surgery on his back, which led to him being placed on 'multiple opiate medications'.
Court documents from the Los Angeles County Superior Court argued: "The multiple opiate medications, which were a synthetic form of morphine, disoriented and intoxicated [Westcott], depriving him of reason and understanding with respect to the terms and consequences of the contract, and seriously impaired [Westcott’s] mental faculties to the point he was of unsound mind and not competent to give his free, voluntary, or intelligent consent to the contract.
"The contract that [Westcott] signed to sell his home is therefore void or voidable."
Westcott's son, Chart, and the rest of his family are now fronting an act called Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years Act, also dubbed 'The Katy PERRY act'.
It's website states: "The Katy PERRY Act addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers.
"The Act establishes a 72 hour cool-down period during which either party involved in a contract for conveyance of a personal residence, in which one party is over the age of 75, can rescind the agreement without penalty."
The act's page reflects on 'elder fraud' or 'financial elder abuse' as being 'a rampant issue in the United States'.
"In fact, the prevalence of online fraud targeting seniors increased by 400 percent in recent years, according to the FBI.
"The Federal Trade Commission also reported that in 2020, individuals aged 60 and older filed over 93,000 complaints related to fraud, with reported losses exceeding $500 million.
"Additionally, the rate of cognitive impairment and/or dementia are 15 percent by age 75 and 20 percent by age 80," it adds.
It concludes: "There are currently no laws to protect senior citizens against real estate transactions that unfairly target older individuals whose mental capacities may be compromised at the time of sale. The PERRY Act addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers."
UNILAD has reached out to Katy Perry's representatives for comment.