Katy Perry is set to appear in court concerning the rumours that she rented out her $15million (£11.3m) Santa Barbara mansion to Chris Pratt.
The I Kissed A Girl singer, 40, has been facing legal issues for the past two years since she and her former fiancé, Orlando Bloom, purchased a home in Santa Barbara.
The singer and her business manager, Bernie Gudvi, are facing a lawsuit from the previous owner, Carl Westcott, who sold the property to the singer in 2020.
Westcott is the founder of 1-800 Flowers, and claimed that he was not o sound mind when he agreed to sell the property, just two months after purchasing it.
UsWeekly has now revealed that in a new twist in the tale, Perry is set to be questioned about a June report that claimed Pratt and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, moved into the 9,285 square-foot estate.
The Jurassic World actor and his wife are reportedly renting the property from Perry, along with their three young children and Pratt’s son Jack from his previous marriage to Anna Faris.
Westcott, who suffers from Huntington’s disease, had originally purchased the property in May 2020, just two months before selling the property to Perry.
Westcott – who was 80 years old at the time – claimed that the sale of the home was done when he ‘lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature and probable consequences of the contract.’
The first phase of the trial began in November 2023 and ended in 2024 with the judge siding with Perry, agreeing that the singer was the rightful owner and the deed was transferred to her name.
According to People, the Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Lipner said at the time: ‘Westcott presented no persuasive evidence that he lacked capacity to enter into a real estate contract.’
Speaking to the New York Post, Westcott’s son, Chart, said: ‘Where the judge’s ruling may follow the letter of the law, it shows that the law has no spirit.
‘Katy Perry will now have to testify, in person, to receive her “damages”. We look forward to her testimony.
‘We hope Ms. Perry enjoys her pyrrhic victory. Lastly, we wish the judge had spelled our father’s name correctly.’
Apparently, after the sale, Perry and Bloom had written a personal letter to Westcott in which they thanked him for selling them the home. They allegedly said that they hoped to bring up their then-unborn daughter, something Westcott’s son said was at odds with her claim for list rentals on the property.
The trial date comes a month after the couple announced their split. In a joint statement issued to US media outlets in July, representatives for the couple said the pair ‘have been shifting their relationship over the past many months to focus on co-parenting’.
‘They will continue to be seen together as a family, as their shared priority is – and always will be – raising their daughter with love, stability and mutual respect,’ it continued.
In the past few days, Perry has been filmed enjoying a cosy dinner with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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