Pop singer Katy Perry and her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, are headed to court over a property dispute with a veteran who claims he was not in the right state of mind to sell them his Santa Barbara estate for $15 million.
A report obtained from Daily Mail found that Carl Westcott, 83, said he signed sale documents in July 2020 when he was under the influence of painkillers after having back surgery. Westcott had also been battling Huntington’s disease since 2015, the documents state.
Westcott tried to back out of the sale days later when he said the influence of the painkillers wore off, but Perry and Bloom refused his request and threatened to sue if he did not go through with the sale.
The case will head to trial this month, the outlet noted.
Westcott claims he never listed the home for sale or enlisted the services of a real estate professional with the intention to sell. He said he purchased the 9,285 square-foot, eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom home in May 2020, just two months before selling it to Perry and Bloom. Westcott said he had intended to live there “for the rest of his life.”
Westcott had back surgery in July 2020 and three days later signed the paperwork after being presented with a written offer from Perry and Bloom for more money than he paid for the property in May.
“Upon discharge from the hospital, Mr. Westcott was prescribed at least two opiates in pill form that he was to continue taking for pain, which he took as prescribed several times each day,” the complaint says, per Daily Mail.
“’The combination of his age, frailty from his back condition and recent surgery, and the opiates he was taking several times a day rendered Mr. Westcott of unsound mind.”
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The veteran’s lawyers argue he was “unable to understand the nature and probable consequences of his actions” due to being on pain medication. They say their client is “in the final years of his life and cannot sell his home.”
A representative for Perry and Bloom sent a letter following Westcott’s request to rescind the documents, saying he was legally obligated to complete the sale of the home.
Westcott will not attend the trial because he is mentally incapacitated and bedridden, leaving his family to fight the celebrity couple over who should be the rightful owners of the estate.
Perry has been involved in a high-profile property dispute before. In 2015, she fought two Roman Catholic nuns over the sale of a Los Angeles convent sold to the singer by Archbishop Jose Gomez. One of the nuns, Sister Holzman, 89, collapsed and died during a court appearance, prompting the other nun involved in the case to state that Perry “has blood on her hands.”