Katy Perry real estate battle inspires a bill to protect elders from financial abuse
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While Katy Perry prepares to take the stand in court, a bill with her name might be going to DC.
The "Fireworks" songstress and her partner Orlando Bloom are currently tied up in a legal battle with 84-year-old Carl Westcott, the founder of 1-800-Flowers, who claims he was on painkillers when he agreed to sell the couple his Santa Barbara mansion. Perry and Bloom are not named in Westcott's filing, which is against the couple's business manager, Bernie Gudvi.
As the trial rages on, members of the Wescott family are throwing their support behind a newly launched campaign for the Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years (PERRY) Act. "The Katy PERRY Act addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers," a website for the act explains.
Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images Katy Perry
In an op-ed for The Federalist, Carl Wescott's son, Chart Wescott, called upon California and other state legislators to pass the act, which establishes a 72-hour grace period during real estate sales and transfers of personal residences that allows either party to rescind the agreement without penalty, if one party is over the age of 75.
The website also lists the 38 state and local politicians who are backing the act.
Per PEOPLE, Perry and Bloom originally purchased the 9,285-square-foot home from Wescott in July 2020 for $15 million. Days after the deal was finalized, Wescott claimed that he had been recovering from spinal surgery at the time of the agreement.
During opening statements last Wednesday, Westcott's attorney Andrew Thomas said that his client, who was diagnosed with the genetic brain disorder Huntington's Disease in 2015, had been showing signs of "delusion" and "intrusive thoughts" after taking the painkillers and was still recovering from "post-operative delirium."
In a countersuit, Perry is seeking more than $5 million in damages due to loss of potential rental income and for the cost of maintaining other properties that she and Bloom rent. She is expected to remotely testify this week in the non-jury trial which began last Wednesday.
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