Katy Perry and her husband Orlando Bloom are involved in a legal battle with an 84-year-old veteran Carl Westcott- previous owner of the $15 million Santa Barbara mansion they bought in July 2020.
Katy Perry Act
Carl’s son Chart and family members are now front-lining an act called ‘Protecting Elder Realty for Retirement Years Act’ aka ‘The Katy Perry Act’.
“The Katy PERRY Act addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers,” states the website.
“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 act’s page states ‘elder fraud’ or ‘financial elder abuse’ as a rampant issue in the US.
As per the FBI, the prevalence of online fraud targeting seniors has increased by 400% in recent years.
In 2020, the Federal Trade Commission reported that individuals aged 60 and above had filed over 93,000 complaints of fraud with losses exceeding over $500 million.
“There are currently no laws to protect senior citizens against real estate transactions that unfairly target older individuals whose mental capacities may be compromised at the time of sale. The PERRY Act addresses the risks of elder financial abuse, especially as it relates to property and real estate sales and transfers,” concludes the bill.
Katy vs. Carl- The Lawsuit
According to the court documents, Carl was heavily medicated on ‘several intoxicating pain-killing opiates’ and ‘did not want to sell his home,’ at all.
The veteran is also said to have been diagnosed with Huntigton’s Disease- a brain disorder in 2015.
Documents submitted in the Los Angeles County Superior Court argue: “The multiple opiate medications, which were a synthetic form of morphine, disoriented and intoxicated [Westcott], depriving him of reason and understanding with respect to the terms and consequences of the contract, and seriously impaired [Westcott’s] mental faculties to the point he was of unsound mind and not competent to give his free, voluntary, or intelligent consent to the contract.”
“The contract that [Westcott] signed to sell his home is therefore void or voidable.”
Social Media Reaction
“That’s an interesting proposal! It’s crucial to protect vulnerable individuals from financial abuse, especially the elderly,” wrote a user on X appreciating the initiative.
“2nd time KP has allegedly sued over not being able to purchase a property from an elderly person…starting to see a trend,” added another user.
