Katy Perry Wins $15M Montecito Mansion After Years-Long Real Estate Battle
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Katy Perry can finally live out her teenage real estate dream. After a three-year-long legal battle with Carl Westcott, a veteran who founded 1-800-FLOWERS, the pop star went from a judicial dark horse to the rightful owner of her idyllic Montecito home.
If you need a refresher on Perry's drawn-out courtroom drama, it all started when the "California Gurls" singer and partner Orlando Bloom reportedly purchased Westcott's Montecito home back in 2020. However, in a move nobody saw coming, Westcott sued to rescind the offer citing his mental incapacity.
Three years later, the judge ruled that Westcott was of sound mind and body when he sold the home to Perry. While the ruling was made permanent in 2023, Perry only recently made things official. According to property records obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the former American Idol judge had the deed to the contested property filed on May 17. (The title is currently under her limited liability corporation DDoveB, which is a sweet nod to the daughter she shares with Bloom.) Since the suit revolved around whether or not Perry could purchase the home, it's unclear where she and Bloom resided in the interim.
"Today's proposed decision is clear—the judge found that Mr. Westcott could not prove anything other than he was of perfectly sound mind when he engaged in complex negotiations over several weeks with multiple parties to transact a lucrative sale of the property that netted him a substantial profit," Eric Rowen, the lawyer who represented Perry, told Rolling Stone in 2023.
It wasn't just Westcott who wanted his home back, but his daughter, Kameron Westcott, who was a star of the now-cancelled Real Housewives of Dallas. In fact, Westcott supporters proposed legislation called the PERRY Act, which is not just the singer's last name but also stands for Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years.
That said, just because Perry can finally go home doesn't mean the legal drama is over. The "Last Friday Night" singer is slated to testify during a second phase of the trial in July. Perry is reportedly requesting damages for lost fair-market rental value, deferred maintenance, and a few necessary repairs caused by a fallen tree and water damage.
Though the home was originally on the market for $15 million, Perry only paid $9 million before the legal battle began. (Translation: Perry will pay the balance once a court determines how much Westcott owes in damages. That said, some are predicting the damages owed could be as much as $6 million, which means Perry would hypothetically owe nothing.)
Admittedly, a full-blown legal battle seems like a lot of effort for a home—but this one is a real-estate firework. Clocking in at 2.5 acres, the 10,000-square-foot Mediterranean-style home reportedly boasts an array of star-studded features such as a pool, four-car garage, "sports court," and lots of fountains. And, while Perry has likely moved on from her "Last Friday Night" days, she's bound to find community in A-List neighbors like Oprah as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In the meantime, we'll sit tight for our invitation to her highly-anticipated housewarming party...
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