MW Orlando Bloom gets caught up in Katy Perry's legal battle with 1-800-Flowers founder over $15 million real estate deal
By Marianne Garvey
Perry purchased a Montecito mansion from entrepreneur Carl Westcott, who later claimed that he had been "mentally incapacitated"
Orlando Bloom has reportedly been swept up in his partner Katy Perry's bitter legal battle with an ailing veteran, who claims he was forced to surrender his $15 million Montecito, Calif., mansion to her.
According to DailyMail.com, Bloom, 47, who shares a daughter with Perry, 40, has been issued with a subpoena to testify in a February 2025 trial in which the "Roar" singer is attempting to claim damages from a man whose mansion she purchased more than four years ago.
The years-long fight over the sprawling 9,000-square-foot home began in July 2020, when entrepreneur Carl Westcott, now 85, agreed to sell the property to Perry for $15 million, inking a deal via her business manager, Bernie Gudvi.
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However, just days later, Westcott, who suffers from Huntington's disease, tried to back out, claiming that he was "mentally incapacitated" when he inked the deal, because of his degenerative illness and the painkillers that he had been taking after undergoing back surgery.
A lengthy and very public legal battle then ensued during which both sides sued the other in a bid to take control of the home.
"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," his complaint said.
However Perry's representatives argued that Westcott, a business mogul who founded 1-800-Flowers, had been of sound mind when he agreed to the deal and that he only wanted to back out because he hadn't been able to find an alternative Montecito property to his liking or budget.
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Finally, in December 2023, a judge ruled in Perry's favor and ordered that the original sales contracts would stand, determining that Westcott had not provided substantial evidence to support his claim that he was not in a fit mental state to have sold the property.
However, while the official ownership of the home has been determined-with property records indicating that Perry took over the deed in May 2024-the battle still rages on, with Perry now seeking damages of up to $6 million from Westcott.
Perry's team is asking for damages "for lost fair-market rental value, deferred maintenance and repairs needed for water damage and a tree falling," according to the Wall Street Journal. In an email to the outlet, Chart Westcott, one of the previous owner's sons, branded the singer's decision to seek damages as "heartless."
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"Hollywood hypocrisy and fake empathy knows no bounds. Her continuing to seek damages, which will be paid in effect by my father's grandchildren, is totally heartless," he wrote.
Perry has thus far paid $9 million for the $15 million estate and wants $6 million knocked off the price for various interior and exterior damages, repairs, and lost rental income since the time of the real estate deal.
The sprawling, 1930s-era 9,285-square-foot compound sits amongst the Santa Ynez foothills. The gated mansion has eight bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, a tennis court, two guesthouses, and a pool.
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Westcott's family is disputing the pop star's claims, and Perry will face a California judge where she will need to provide evidence of the damage caused by water and from a fallen tree, and other maintenance issues since her purchase of the place.
Perry has reportedly hired a team of 25 experts to look for faults in the home.
How much the "Roar" singer still owes on the property will be determined in court. The second phase of the trial, to determine damages, is set to begin on Feb. 25, 2025.
While Perry was already expected to testify in court, it appears that her longtime partner, Bloom, may now be required to do so as well, with a source close to the Westcott family telling DailyMail.com that they believe he should have to speak at the trial because of his "heavy involvement" with the property.
"The family believes strongly that Orlando should testify as he was heavily involved in the property management once the keys were exchanged and he visited prior," the insider said.
The outlet states that Bloom was issued with the subpoena late on Halloween.
This story originally ran on Realtor.com.
-Marianne Garvey
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November 15, 2024 05:02 ET (10:02 GMT)
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