Carl Westcott had just had surgery and was high on painkillers when he inked a contract to sell his Montecito home to singer Katy Perry and her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, for $15 million.
That’s the crux of a three-year-legal dispute that goes to trial this month to settle ownership of the 9,300-square-foot estate at 1569 East Valley Road, the Daily Mail reported.
Westcott’s lawyers argue the contract to sell his home is “voidable” because of their client’s mental state. His family is now fighting the singer for control of their father’s $15 million estate.
In July 2020, the then 80-year-old military veteran with Huntington’s Disease said he had just undergone a six-hour back surgery and had taken opiates to numb the pain.
“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,” according to a lawsuit.
Three days after he was released from the hospital, Bernie Gudvi, who represented Perry and Bloom, presented Westcott with a written offer for more than he had paid two months earlier for the eight-bedroom, 11-bath estate, according to his complaint.
The following day, Westcott signed a sales agreement prepared by Berkshire Hathaway.
The deal, reported at the time for $14.2 million, included a four-building compound in the Santa Ynez foothills built in the 1930s, then renovated by architect Lutah Maria Riggs. For Perry, born and raised in Santa Barbara, it was supposed to be a homecoming.
But Westcott’s lawyers argue the aging seller was “unable to understand the nature and probable consequences of his actions.” Days later, Westcott “started to feel mentally clear again” and realized the weight of his signature on the agreement, the complaint states.
Westcott then sent an email to Berkshire Hathaway, which represented the seller and buyer, saying that he didn’t want to sell — that he’d been under the influence of pain medication and was “in the final years of his life and cannot sell his home,” the lawsuit contends.
Two days later, the Westcott received a letter from a lawyer for Gudvi, Perry and Bloom, saying the couple was “not willing to walk away from purchasing Mr. Westcott’s home and he is obligated to complete the sale.”
Westcott, who served in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, is an entrepreneur with roots in Texas who owned numerous companies, including 1-800-Flowers.
Previously, Perry ran into another legal bramble when she tried to buy an 8-acre Los Angeles convent for a future home.
The pop star spent roughly two years fighting a group of aging nuns and a competing wannabe buyer, restaurateur Dana Hollister, for the former Waverly Place convent at 3431 Waverly Drive. An 89-year-old nun died in the courtroom.
After spending $2.6 million in legal fees, Perry acquired the property in 2016, with damages totaling more than $15 million.
— Dana Bartholomew
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