Katy Perry's house battle with 84-year-old veteran inspires new bill called Katy Perry Act
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity
Anish Vij
Featured Image Credit: Taylor Hill / Contributor/Family handout
Topics: Katy Perry, Celebrity
Katy Perry and her fiancé Orlando Bloom were once involved in a rather tricky lawsuit with a veteran home owner who sold them his house back in 2020.
Carl Westcott's property was purchased by the celebrity couple for a whopping $15 million in July 2020, but the 84-year-old, who claims to have been on 'several intoxicating pain-killing opiates' at the time - apparently 'did not want to sell his home'.
Court papers suggest he was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease - a genetic brain disorder - in 2015.
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And just days before the contract was drawn up, Westcott underwent a 'major six-hour' surgery on his back, which led to him being placed on 'multiple opiate medications'.
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.
This act has also been dubbed 'The Katy PERRY act'.
Its 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 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 reached out to Katy Perry's representatives for comment.