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After Katy Perry’s series of legal battles with a number of California homeowners in recent years, some of her opponents have been inspired to push for new housing legislation to prevent similar shenanigans from happening to others in the future, Semafor reported.
At the moment, Perry is engulfed in a dispute with the 82-year-old founder of 1-800-Flowers, Carl Westcott, who has alleged in a lawsuit against the pop star that he was “of unsound mind” when he agreed to sell his eight-bedroom Montecito estate to Perry and beau Orlando Bloom in 2020 for $15 million because Westcott had been taking opiates while recovering from a major surgery.
Westcott has Huntington’s disease, which is a deadly brain disorder.
Perry’s dalliances with potentially taking advantage of older homeowners does not stop with Westcott, however. She also became involved in a legal case in 2015 with an order of Catholic nuns in Los Feliz.
Perry approached the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary because she was interested in purchasing their Spanish-Gothic-Tudor estate and offered cash for the property. Although the sisters — most of whom were in their 80s — were not interested in moving, L.A. Archbishop José Gomez insisted that they vacate the property. Although the sisters fought the move, a judge ruled in favor of Perry in 2016 and she took occupancy of the home.
Even then, the battle for homeownership continued until, in a post-judgment hearing related to the case, the 89-year-old Sister Catherine Rose Holzman collapsed and died while in court.
Westcott’s son, Chart, and his family are advocating for the launch of the Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years Act or the “Katy PERRY Act.”
A website that the family and supporters launched in conjunction with Semafor last weekend states that the act “addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers. The Act establishes a 72-hour cool-down period during which either party involved in a contract for conveyance of a personal residence, in which one party is over the age of 75, can rescind the agreement without penalty.”
The bi-partisan effort features a number of endorsements from state representatives, assemblymen and senators listed on the group’s website. The website also notes that state and local legislatures across the U.S. will be introducing versions of the bill soon.
