Katy Perry’s year-long legal battle with the disgruntled seller of her multi-million dollar mansion has taken another dramatic turn – Perry’s levied claims that the trial has turned into a ‘media circus’.
The family of Carl Westcott filed a subpoena in October, demanding that actor Orlando Bloom, 47, testify during the damages phase of an upcoming trial scheduled for February 25.
They claimed that Bloom played a significant role in managing the property after 85-year-old Wescott was forced to relinquish his Montecito mansion.
But in a response filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Katy Perry’s legal team argued that the involvement of her family, including Bloom, should be considered ‘off-limits’, calling the subpoena an unnecessary move.
The court documents, which were obtained by DailyMail.com, ᴀssert that this request is nothing more than a publicity tactic.
‘The ulterior motive of the subpoena to Mr. Bloom is self-evident: Westcott wants to continue turning the case into a media circus, either out of personal animus toward (Perry) and her family or in a misguided effort to leverage an unfair settlement,’ stated Perry through lawyers and her manager Bernie Gudvi.
The family of Carl Wescott filed a subpoena in October, demanding that actor Orlando Bloom, 47, testify during the damages phase of an upcoming trial scheduled for February 25
Carl Westcott, 85, agreed to sell his 9,000 square-foot home sitting on a 2.5-acre lot to Perry in 2020 for $11.25million, but days later tried to nix the deal by claiming he was under the influence of painkillers when he signed
The response to the subpoena was filed last Wednesday by Perry’s manager Bernie Gudvi in anticipation of their February 13 hearing date
Perry’s team argued that ‘Mr. Bloom has no knowledge remotely bearing on the facts of this case’, including the original 2020 sales contract and damages that occurred before she took ownership last year.
‘Indeed, all those areas are the appropriate subject of expert testimony from some of the nineteen licensed contractors and sub-contractors who inspected the property,’ they contend.
‘It was one thing to seek testimony from (Perry) despite her limited knowledge of relevant facts in the damages phase; it is another to drag into these proceedings Mr. Bloom, who has no demonstrated knowledge of any relevant facts and was not the subject of any discovery.’
‘The Court should not allow this trial to turn into a sideshow targeting (Perry’s) family. The Court should quash the trial subpoena to Mr. Bloom or, alternatively, exclude his testimony at trial.’
Ailing Westcott agreed to sell his 9,000 square-foot home sitting on a 2.5-acre lot to Perry in 2020 for $11.25million, but days later tried to nix the deal by claiming he was under the influence of painkillers when he signed.
Realtor.com values the eight-bed, 7.5-bath property at more than $12.3million.
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom enjoyed a quick family outing with their daughter Daisy and their dog on January 10 in Santa Barbara. Perry, 40, was seen juggling the toy along with a couple of other purchases, wearing a light blue Adidas jacket and joggers with silver Birkenstocks
Perry’s team argued that ‘Mr. Bloom has no knowledge remotely bearing on the facts of this case,’ including about the original 2020 sales contract and damages that occurred before she took ownership last year
They argued that the motive to subpoena Bloom was to further ‘sensationalize’ the court case and turn it into a ‘media circus’ for an unknown grudge that Westcott has toward Perry
A court ruled the contract was legit and late last year Perry, who turned 40 last week, was declared the legal owner of the gated 1930s estate which boasts a tennis court, two guesthouses and a pool.
The Firework singer still wants to knock around $6million off the price, however, claiming that the bedridden octogenarian – currently receiving hospice care for Huntington’s disease – owes her vast sums for repairs and lost rental income.
But the family source disputed that. ‘The “damages’ being sought are absolutely egregious and Orlando is well aware of all of this.’
Perry will have to make her case in person after a California judge ruled that she must give evidence at an upcoming damages trial where she’ll come face to face with Westcott’s family, who say the ‘exhausting’ battle has marred their beloved patriarch’s final days.
DailyMail.com understands that Westcott’s entire immediate family, including his sons Chart and Court Westcott – who is married to Real Housewives of Dallas alum Kameron Westcott – all plan to attend LA Superior Court.
‘It’s clearly apparent that she’s trying to squeeze every last dollar out of Carl’s family without any shred of empathy at the expense of an elderly man’s legacy,’ a family friend told us.
Days after signing the home away, Westcott – who suffers from Huntington’s Disease, rescinded the contract and reneged on the sale of the eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom property
Carl Westcott grew up ‘the poorest of the poor’ in Mississippi in a sH๏τgun house without plumbing
A court ruled the contract was legit and late last year Perry was declared the legal owner of the gated 1930s estate which boasts a tennis court, two guesthouses and a pool
Westcott, with his sons Court (center) and Chart in 2016, is currently receiving hospice care for Huntington’s disease
‘The fact is the Westcott family wants her to face them because they believe they deserve that. She’s taken their father’s house and now she wants the shirt off his back.
‘The least she can do is look them all in the eye while she does it.’
The sprawling 9,285-square-foot compound in the Santa Ynez foothills has been registered under the owner DDoveB, a nod to Perry’s three-year-old daughter, Daisy Dove Bloom, since May.
Perry has placed $9million in escrow to pay Westcott, a celebrated veteran of the US Army 101st Airborne who was born into a ‘dirt poor’ family in Mississippi.
He grew up in a sH๏τgun house without plumbing but moved to LA where he went on to build several successful companies including 1-800-Flowers.
His father had only a second-grade education and couldn’t read or write and Westcott was sent to a home for juvenile delinquents for selling school lunch vouchers.
Perry and Bloom penned a personal letter to Westcott following the sale of the property in 2020
Exactly how much of the remaining $6million balance Perry owes him will be determined by the second phase of their protracted, four-year court saga
But he pulled his life together when he moved to LA as a teen and started selling cars, eventually opening his own dealerships.
‘When you are poor in Mississippi, that is the poorest of the poor,’ Westcott once said.
‘We didn’t have a car, and I always thought people with cars were wealthy. In fact, I thought people with lawns were pretty remarkable.’
Exactly how much of the remaining $6million balance Perry owes him will be determined by the second phase of their protracted, four-year court saga.
The damages trial was originally scheduled to take place this month, lasting several days. But Westcott’s lawyers pleaded for more time after Perry – worth an estimated $350million – hired 25 experts to scour the house for faults.
They will argue that the two-acre property needs repairs for water damage, an oak tree that fell on a building, and various other maintenance issues that have arisen while she waited years to move in.
Perry wants around $3.5million in lost rent that she could have supposedly earned on the posh retreat despite stating at the time of the sale that she planned to raise her daughter there
Read MoreEXCLUSIVE Orlando Bloom is dragged into Katy Perry’s battle after vet said he signed over mansion ‘by mistake’ 
She also wants around $3.5million in lost rent that she could have supposedly earned on the posh retreat despite stating at the time of the sale that she planned to raise her daughter there.
Perry’s lawyers argued at a June 20 hearing that she and Bloom – who is also likely to be subpoenaed and asked to give evidence – were essentially ‘lay people’ and would rely instead on statements from professional construction experts.
But Judge Joseph Lipner insisted: ‘As I sit right here this minute I definitely expect Ms Perry to be a witness.’
DailyMail.com previously revealed how Perry had become ensnared in the extraordinary dispute with Westcott after he claimed his judgment was clouded by powerful medication and ill health when he inked the deal on July 15, 2020.
He had only purchased the home in May of that year and moved in two months before his dealings with Perry’s representative, Bernie Gudvi, who agreed to pay him $3,750,000 more than he had just bought it for.
The then-80-year-old had been discharged from the hospital only four days before signing, having undergone a six-hour back operation.
Daisy, four, looked adorable in a pink peplum top and pink and blue floral pants. Bloom, 47, kept it casual wearing a brown sweatshirt with a loose-fitting pair of black pants with black slide sandals
He was on a potent cocktail of opiates to numb the pain, his lawyers said.
When the medication wore off, Westcott said he realized he’d made a mistake and informed Berkshire Hathaway by email on July 22 that he no longer intended to sell up.
‘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,’ his complaint argued.
Perry and Bloom’s agents disregarded Westcott’s plea, writing to him days later to warn they would sue if he did not relinquish the property.
Westcott’s family took up the fight on his behalf after he became bedridden and mentally incapacitated because of Huntington’s disease, which attacks the brain and can cause progressive dementia.
She emerged victorious in the first phase of their trial last year after Judge Lipner ruled there was ‘no persuasive evidence’ that Westcott could not sign the contract.
‘There are no grounds for rescission. The contract must be respected,’ he concluded, leaving only the issue of damages – essentially how big a discount to award to Perry, who didn’t give evidence in person – to be determined.
