In an effort to avoid a ‘celebrity circus,’ a Los Angeles judge Friday saved recently split couple Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom from going through an awkward, forced reunion later this month.
Bloom, 48, had been subpoenaed as a witness to testify at a trial in his ex-fiancée’s lawsuit against dying 85-year-old veteran Carl Westcott over the $15million mansion she bought from him.
But at a court hearing Friday, LA Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner excused the movie star, who broke up with Perry in June after nine years together, from taking the witness stand in the trial that’s scheduled to start August 21.
Westcott’s attorney, Andrew Thomas, told the court that Bloom should testify because he was the ‘owner’s representative’ who supervised building contractors’ repair work at the disputed 9,000 square-foot house that Perry, 40, is claiming millions in damages for.
But Judge Lipner rejected that argument, saying he only needed the testimony of the contractors themselves and added: ‘Why do we need Mr. Bloom to (give testimony), other than making this a celebrity circus?’
The judge did order Perry to appear in person at the trial, though he said he’ll limit the time of her testimony and cross examination to ‘no more than two hours.’
A Los Angeles judge’s ruling at a hearing on Friday has spared recently split couple Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom from an awkward courtroom reunion later this month
Westcott, 85, agreed to sell his 9,000 square-foot home sitting on a 2.5-acre lot to Perry in 2020 for $11.25million, but days later tried to nix the deal by claiming he was under the influence of painkillers when he signed
Westcott – who suffers from an incurable brain disorder – agreed to sell his 1930s estate in star-studded Montecito to Perry in 2020 for $15million.
Carl Westcott is is now under hospice care suffering from Huntington’s Disease
But just days later, he tried to back out of the deal, claiming he was under the influence of painkillers when he signed.
Perry and her then-partner Bloom – who share a four-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove – sued Westcott and, after a nearly four-year court battle, won their case to keep the giant home in the seaside town where other celebrity residents include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey, Ariana Grande, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Soon after winning the keys to the house, the singer went back to court again, this time seeking $6million from Westcott, claiming nearly $2.5million in damages to the sprawling, 2.5-acre property and the $3.5million in back rent she could have charged during her long legal fight.
Perry – who is also trying to force Westcott to pay her estimated $3million legal fees – has come under fire from his family members for going after their ailing patriarch.
They say they are outraged by the ‘greed’ of the pop star, estimated to be worth $350million, and have slammed the ‘Hollywood elite system’ that they say allows celebrities like her to ‘treat ordinary people like dirt’.
LA Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner ruled that Bloom will not testify in the trial that’s scheduled to start August 21. But Perry will be up on the witness stand for ‘no more than two hours’
The family of dying Westcott slammed singer Katy Perry and said they were outraged by her ‘greed’ and entitlement, which they say allows celebrities like her to ‘treat ordinary people like dirt’
‘It’s entitled celebrity behavior,’ Carl’s son Chart Westcott, 39, said.
‘She has no sense of fair play, no empathy, zero empathy, quite the opposite.’
Chart said that it was a ‘miracle’ that his bedridden father, who is ‘in horrible condition’ as he receives hospice care for Huntington’s disease, has ‘survived longer than we ever expected’.
And he bitterly disputes the millions Perry is demanding for lost rental income and repairs to the estate, which boasts a tennis court, two guesthouses and a pool.
The damages she is seeking are ‘absolutely egregious’, said Chart, whose brother Court is married to Real Housewives of Dallas star Kameron Westcott.
‘There’s no real explanation other than greed. This is such a small deal to be worried about – I think it’s a matter of privilege.’
The personal letter that Perry and Bloom penned to Westcott following the sale of the property in 2020, which expressed how grateful they were to have been sold the home and raise their daughter, Daisy Dove, in
Westcott’s son, Chart (right), said his bedridden father (left) is in horrible condition physically and that it’s a ‘miracle’ that he’s survived as his body continues to break down from Huntington’s disease
Perry hired more than a dozen ‘experts’ to scour the house for faults and argues that the property needed repairs for water damage, an oak tree that fell on a guest cottage/pool house and several other maintenance issues that arose while she waited years to move because Westcott disputed the sale.
She’s also asking for $3.5million in lost rent that she could have earned on the posh retreat despite stating at the time of the sale that she wanted the house as a place to raise daughter Daisy Dove, who turns five later this month.
Some 37 names are on the witness list for the upcoming non-jury trial, which is expected to last 7-10 days.
Both Court and Chart Westcott are also on the list, while many of the other witnesses are ‘experts’ hired by Perry to tell how the mansion fell into disrepair during the long-running legal debacle.
Westcott, a veteran of the US Army 101st Airborne, was born into a ‘dirt poor’ family in Mississippi but moved to Los Angeles where he made his fortune building several successful companies, including 1-800-Flowers.
He and Perry became ensnared in their bitter dispute after he claimed his judgment was clouded by powerful medication and ill health when he inked the deal to sell on July 15, 2020.
The dispute between Perry and Wescott began shortly after the veteran signed off on the sale of the home on July 15, 2020
Perry has rented the Westcott house to Guardians of the Galaxy actor Chris Pratt, his author wife Katherine and their three children
He had only purchased the home in May of that year and moved in two months prior to his dealings with Perry’s manager, Bernie Gudvi, who agreed to pay Westcott $3,750,000 more than he had just bought it for.
The then-80-year-old had been discharged from the hospital only four days before signing, having undergone a six-hour back operation and he was on a potent cocktail of opiates to numb the pain, according to his lawyers.
When the medication wore off, Westcott said he realized he’d made a mistake and decided he no longer wanted to sell.
‘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 lawyers argued.
But Perry and Bloom persisted in their quest to own the mansion and filed suit. Then, Westcott’s family took up the fight on his behalf after he became bedridden and mentally incapacitated because of Huntington’s disease, which attacks the brain and can cause progressive dementia.
The famous couple won their original lawsuit after Judge Lipner ruled there was ‘no persuasive evidence’ that Westcott lacked the capacity to sign the contract.
Pratt posted two videos of himself in his temporary new home, which he rented from Perry. She plans to move back in when the short-term rental is over
‘There are no grounds for rescission. The contract must be respected,’ the judge concluded, leaving only the issue of damages – essentially how big a discount, if any, to award to Perry – to be determined.
Amid her litigation with Westcott, Perry bought another luxury home close by in Montecito, and recently she rented the Westcott house to Guardians of the Galaxy actor Chris Pratt, and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger.
That news made Westcott’s attorney, Thomas, double down on his dispute of Perry’s ‘exorbitant’ claims of damage to the house.
‘If the house was in so much need of repairs, how come it was in good enough shape for Chris Pratt and his family to move in there?’ he asked Daily Mail after Friday’s court hearing.
