Katy Perry ordered to testify over purchase of $15 million home sold by man of ‘unsound mind’
Katy Perry has been ordered to give testimony in a trial after buying a $15 million home from a man who is now claiming he was of 'unsound mind'.
Perry became the proud owner of the new home in July 2020, when she and her fiancé, Orlando Bloom, bought it from 84-year-old business entrepreneur, Carl Westcott.
Located in the Californian town of Montecito, the home covers 9,285 square feet and comes with eight bedrooms and 11 bathrooms.
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The purchase came five years after Wescott, who is the father-in-law of former Real Housewives of Dallas reality star, Kameron Westcott, was diagnosed with the genetic brain disorder Huntington’s Disease.
He is now living in a facility for patients facing dementia, but following the sale, Westcott claimed he hadn't been in the right mind to sign any binding contracts due to 'several intoxicating pain-killing opiates' he had been taking at the time.
Wescott launched a legal battle against Perry, claiming 'he lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature and probable consequences of the contract' due to painkillers he was taking after a back surgery several days before the real estate sale.
"In addition to [Westcott’s] frailty from advanced age and poor heath [sic] from Huntington’s Disease, [Westcott] had a major six-hour surgery less than a week before the proposed contract to sell his home was presented to him on July 14, 2020," the documents claim.
In response, attorney Eric Rowan argued Wescott's diagnosis had not impacted his mental capacity.
Perry has also responded to Wescott by requesting more than $5 million in damages, which she claims have amounted due to loss of potential rental income and for the cost of maintaining other properties she and Bloom rent.
Wescott's lawyers have claimed they have email evidence that Perry's team had agreed to accept a subpoena to testify, though Perry's lawyers claimed she was not properly served.
Perry has now been ordered by a judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court to testify in the non-jury trial.
In response to the order, Rowan suggested that Perry's deposition be used as testimony as 'she is in Alabama taping the TV series she is on' until 19 October.
Rowan's request was denied, so he asked instead for a closed court for her to deliver her testimony.
The lawyer also asked whether she could testify remotely over the home's rightful owner and the damages.
Following Rowan's requests, the judge responded: “I am inclined to have her do it remote, but I am not inclined to have a closed court. She is a person like anyone else. She is asking for a lot of money."
The judge also noted that Perry should have to answer questions.
She is expected to give her testimony in October.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Katy Perry, Money, Music, Health
Emily Brown