Legal victory for Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom as court upholds purchase of family home amid seller's reversal attempt
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kate Perry and Orlando Bloom have a reason to celebrate!
Renowned singer Katy Perry and her husband Orlando Bloom purchased a family home in July 2020, but the seller, Carl Westcott, later had a change of heart and attempted to revoke the deal.
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Katy Perry's attorney releases statement
On Wednesday, November 8, a judge in the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a tentative ruling stating that the Westcott Communications owner was in sound mind when making the property decision.
Eric Rowen, Perry's attorney, stated, "Today's proposed decision is clear—the judge found that Mr Westcott could not prove anything other than he was of perfectly sound mind when he engaged in complex negotiations over several weeks with multiple parties to transact a lucrative sale of the property that netted him a substantial profit."
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The statement continued, "The evidence demonstrates that Mr Westcott breached the contract for no other reason than he had changed his mind. We anticipate resolving this matter during the scheduled damage trial phase set for February 13 and 14, if not sooner."
Chart Westcott, Westcott's son, told People, "While we do not agree with Judge Lipner’s ruling and wish he had spelled our father’s name correctly in his ruling, we accept it.”
Chart Westcott also said, “Katy Perry will now have to testify, in person, on damages and the contradictory claims she has made over lost income for the rental of my father’s home."
While this has been a long road, the fight for my father is not over and we will continue to represent him and his legacy of incredible achievements," Chart added.
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Judge Joseph Lipner considered witness's testimony
According to the outlet, Judge Joseph Lipner reached a conclusion based on witness testimony.
"Westcott's main evidence during the trial on lack of capacity was the analysis and testimony of his retained expert, Dr Gary Small, a psychiatrist who never met Westcott. The court did not find this evidence credible or persuasive," he wrote.
Dr Small stood alone as the sole witness claiming that the entrepreneur was incapacitated due to Huntington's Disease in July 2020.
In his ruling, Judge Lipner stated, "On the other hand, significant evidence showed that Westcott had the capacity to enter into the contract."
Judge Lipner also noted, “This evidence includes the testimony of percipient witnesses who interacted with Westcott during the days he negotiated and signed the contract."
"Westcott's written communications during those same days, showing him to be coherent, engaged, lucid, and rational, and the medical reports of Westcott's doctors, none of whom found he lacked the capacity to engage in any action before the sales contract or for over a year afterward," the judge concluded.
