Court Rules Katy Perry Is Owed $1.8 Million in Damages for Lost Rental Income at Montecito Mansion After Bitter Legal Battle

A court has ruled that pop star Katy Perry is owed $1.8 million in lost rental income at the Montecito mansion she spent four years fighting for in court—after she sued the former owner for $5 million in damages.

Perry, 41, and her former fiancé, Orlando Bloom, 48, purchased the property from ailing veteran Carl Westcott, 85, via their business manager, Bernie Gudvi, for $15 million in 2020—only for the home's owner to back out just days later, claiming he had been under the influence of painkillers when he agreed to the sale.

Perry and Westcott would then spend four years locked in a bitter legal battle over the property, before a judge granted ownership to the "Dark Horse" singer and her then-partner in December 2023. They officially took control of the dwelling in May 2024.

However, the chart topper then sued Westcott—who has Huntington's disease—for $5 million in damages in a move that was blasted by his family, who slammed her for having "zero empathy."

In court documents, she alleged that she had lost "$3,525,000 in rental value," while also demanding that Westcott pay "$1,343,401.95 for necessary repairs" to the property.

While the total for those two amounts reached $4,868,401.95, that sum was lowered as a result of the $149,703 that Westcott lost, according to the documents.

Though she has not been granted that full amount, Westcott has now been ordered to pay out close to $2 million to the singer, according to People.

On Nov. 25, Judge Joseph Lipner of the Superior Court of the State of California in Los Angeles County ruled that Perry is owed a total of $1,842,142.84, the outlet reports.

That total amount includes $2,795,000 for lost rental income between September 2020—when Perry and Bloom closed on the deal—and March 31, 2024, when the home was last in Westcott's possession.

The judge then deducted $1,062,736 of retained capital and the $149,703 that Westcott lost in interest during that time—while limiting the cost of the repairs to $259,581.84, which is the exact amount that was previously proposed by Westcott's lawyers.

However, the $1.8 million will not be paid by Westcott, but rather deducted from the $6 million that is still owed to him for the house; Gudvi initially paid him just $9 million of the agreed-upon price and has waited to pay the rest until a judgement was reached in Perry's case. He will now owe Westcott $4,157,857.16.

Judge Lipner's ruling marks the end of a tumultuous and bitter legal battle between Perry and Westcott, which has been raging since the sale was agreed-upon more than five years ago.

At the time, Westcott attempted to back out of the sale of his home, stating that he was of "unsound mind" because of a medical procedure he had recently undergone.

"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," Westcott's lawyers stated in court documents.

However, Perry's representatives argued that Westcott had been of sound mind when he agreed to the deal and that he only wanted to back out because he hadn't been able to find an alternative Montecito property to his liking or budget.

Their yearslong legal battle was finally resolved in December 2023, when a judge ruled in Perry's favor and ordered that the original sale contract—which was arranged by the pop star's business manager—should be upheld.

Perry officially took possession of the home in May 2024. The sprawling, 1930s-era, 9,285-square-foot compound sits among the Santa Ynez foothills and has eight bedrooms, 7.5 bathrooms, a tennis court, two guesthouses, and a pool.

However, the battle did not stop there. Soon after that judgment, Perry moved to file a lawsuit against Westcott for $6 million in damages—a decision that was slammed by his family, who have accused her of having "zero empathy."

Sensationally, during an August court hearing at which she appeared via Zoom, Perry admitted that she is not actually the owner of the Montecito property. It was actually purchased by her former fiancé, Bloom.

In her 55-minute testimony, which was frequently interrupted by objections from her lawyer, Perry confirmed a courtroom revelation from her business partner that it was Bloom who held the title to the Santa Barbara County property through the limited liability company DDoveB, named after the former couple's daughter.

Perry and Bloom had ended their six-year engagement one month before the hearing took place. However, the "California Gurls" singer said during her testimony that the actor and their shared daughter are her "family for life."

"So when title to the house was transferred as a result of this lawsuit, it never went to you or any entity you control, isn't that true?" Westcott's attorney, Andrew Thomas, asked her.

"Yes, sir," replied Perry, adding that DDoveB was one of Bloom's limited liability companies.

When asked by Thomas what she stood to gain from the outcome of the trial, Perry shot back: "Justice."

"How about money?" Thomas questioned. "Do you stand to make any money from the outcome of this litigation?"

"I stand to lose money if it doesn’t work in my favor," said Perry.

Perry admitted that she contributed no funds when Bloom's LLC purchased the house in 2024 and that her role in the home's remodeling was limited to being a "partner and adviser."

The celebrity witness elaborated further on her participation in the renovation, saying that she saw "pictures and videos" of the work being done but took no active part in it.

However, when she was asked who would be responsible for paying Westcott the remaining $6 million owed on the price of the house, Perry said that it was likely she and Bloom would pay together.

"Are you two somehow partners in the property?" Thomas asked, prompting Perry to respond: "We're family for life."

Though she stopped short of saying that she and Bloom were financial partners, she did say that the property at the center of the case was of "good financial interest for me."

She added, "I will gain financially from out."

Perry has not revealed whether she or Bloom ever actually lived in the Montecito residence, which they originally purchased as a family home in which to raise their daughter, Daisy Dove, 5.

The former couple own another opulent mansion in the same neighborhood, which they bought for $14.2 million soon after Westcott attempted to back out of the sale of his home.

That property—which records indicate is registered in Perry's name alone—has been undergoing significant renovations over the past five years.

It is unclear whether Bloom played any role in the lawsuit against Westcott. However, the actor has largely attempted to remain out of the fray as far as the legal battle is concerned.

Westcott's legal team previously failed in its efforts to persuade the judge to call Bloom as a witness—having claimed that he should be asked to testify about the repairs that the singer said had to be carried out on the home.

However, the judge in the case shut down that request, insisting that the lawyers needed to only rely on testimony from the contractors who were involved in the process, while accusing the legal team of trying to turn the trial into a "celebrity circus."

"Why do you need Mr. Bloom to do that, other than to make it a celebrity circus?" Judge Lipner asked Westcott's lawyers in an Aug. 1 hearing, according to Rolling Stone. "Why don’t you just talk to the construction person who actually did it?"

Hollywood actor Chris Pratt and his wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger, were then dragged into the legal saga, when it was reported that they had moved into the Montecito property after leasing it from Perry and Bloom.

The couple, who are in the process of building a custom compound in Brentwood, are said to have been loaned the Montecito property to use while they wait for their new home to be completed.

Westcott's lawyers had asked the judge in the August hearing to question Pratt about the condition of the home when he moved in, according to Fox News—noting that he could provide key evidence to slap down Perry's claims that significant damage had been done before she officially took ownership of the dwelling.

The lawyers also pointed out that Pratt and his wife have been closely linked to the property since Perry first expressed interest in it—calling attention to the fact that she became involved in a bidding war with Schwarzenegger's mother, Maria Shriver, who was also keen to buy the abode.