Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom Go to Trial Over Santa Barbara House

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are reportedly going to court later this month with a man who claims he was not in his right mind when he sold his house to them. Santa Barbara man Carl Westcott filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court claiming that was of "unsound mind" when he agreed to the sale because he took "several intoxicating pain-killing opiates" that had been prescribed to him.

Westcott is not suing Perry and Bloom directly, but instead their business manager Bernie Gudvi. According to a report by USA Today, Gudvi represented Perry and Bloom in this sale, so he is named as the primary defendant. The case has been scheduled for a non-jury trial beginning on Aug. 21 in L.A. Bloom, Perry and Gudvi have not yet responded publicly to these reports. Westcott is 80 years old and suffers from Huntington's disease and claims he cannot sell his house and move again in his state.

The sale in question took place in July of 2020 when Perry and Bloom sent an inquiry to Westcott about his house. They offered $15 million. Westcott had reportedly purchased the home recently, and he also underwent extensive back surgery just days before receiving Perry and Bloom's offer. This is why Westcott was on strong prescription painkillers during this negotiation.

Westcott signed the contract, but about a week later he reached back out and said that it had been a mistake. According to the lawsuit, he told Perry and Bloom's team that he "had not been himself due to the combination of his age, frailty, Huntington's disease, the six-hour surgery and especially the intoxicating effects of the opiate pain killers he had been taking several times each day." He also reached out to the real estate agency handling the sale, stating that he was in "the final few years of his life" and could not manage a move again.

Westcott got a letter in response from Perry and Bloom's attorney which said that the two celebrities were "not willing to walk away from purchasing Mr. Westcott's home and he is obligated to complete the sale." Westcott is now hoping a judge can intervene and rule that this contract is not legitimate. He is also seeking repayment for his litigation and attorney's fees.

Strangely, this is not the first time Perry has been accused of ruthlessness in the homebuying process. From 2014 to 2019 Perry was embroiled in a legal battle with a Catholic convent for nuns in L.A. which she was trying to purchase at all costs. At one point in the proceedings, an 89-year-old nun actually passed away in the courtroom while trying to defend her home. The process reached a legal stalemate and Perry never moved into the convent.

Westcott's lawsuit goes to court on Aug. 21 in L.A. It's unclear if Perry and Bloom will attend in person.