Katy Perry recently acquired a $15 million mansion in Montecito after a prolonged legal battle with 84-year-old disabled veteran Carl Westcott. The dispute, spanning four years, centered on a real estate contract signed in July 2020, where Westcott agreed to sell his property to Perry. However, he later claimed that he was under the influence of opioids and painkillers following back surgery, leading him to rescind the contract.j

Despite Westcott’s claims, a Los Angeles judge ruled in November 2023 in favor of Perry, stating that there was no persuasive evidence indicating Westcott lacked the capacity to enter into the contract. Perry, through her LLC DDoveB (named after her daughter Daisy Dove Bloom with fiancé Orlando Bloom), successfully finalized the purchase of the 9,285-square-foot mansion.

The legal battle involved Perry seeking millions in damages for lost rent that could have been charged for the eight-bedroom home. Westcott, a veteran of the US Army 101st Airborne and successful businessman, had intended to live in the mansion as his primary residence.

This acquisition wasn’t Perry’s first legal tussle over a property. In 2015, she faced a contentious battle with elderly Roman Catholic nuns over the purchase of a Los Angeles convent. Perry bought the property from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for $14.5 million, despite objections from Sisters Rita Callanan and Catherine Rose Holzman, who claimed they had already sold it to another buyer. The ensuing legal proceedings ended in Perry and the Archdiocese prevailing, with damages awarded against the nuns.

The controversies surrounding Perry’s property acquisitions have drawn public attention, highlighting the challenges and legal complexities involved in high-profile real estate transactions.