Katy Perry and Carl Westcott’s years-long dispute over a multimillion-dollar mansion has resulted in another legal victory for the pop star.
This week, it was reported that a Los Angeles County judge had signed a proposed order that will result in Perry being awarded $1.8 million. According to Rolling Stone, the order is expected to stand so long as an objection isn’t filed within 10 days. Perry had previously requested nearly $5 million in damages.
A separate report from People breaks down the financial details of the proposed order, noting that it includes around $2.8 million in rental value, minus retained capital and lost interest from Westcott.
In 2020, lawyers for Westcott, founder of Westcott Communications and 1800FLOWERS, had argued that a contract for the sale of the Montecito, California property in question — previously reported to be worth $15 million — should be voided due to their client lacking "the mental capacity to understand the nature and probable consequences."
Specifically, Westcott’s lawyers pointed to a diagnosis of Huntington’s Disease, saying that he was on medication at the time that they claimed rendered him "of unsound mind."
Not long after purchasing the property himself, Westcott signed an agreement with business manager Bernie Gudvi, who was acting on behalf of Perry and her partner at the time, Orlando Bloom. Claims that Westcott lacked the capacity to understand the agreement were later disputed, with a court determining that he was in his right mind at the time of the deal, leading to a prior legal victory for Gudvi, and by extension Perry.
The dispute later led to Perry herself taking the stand during the damages phase of the proceedings. During an hour of testimony in August, per the Associated Press, Perry argued that the fight itself was one carried out in pursuit of "justice."