Hollywood Chris Pratt has been named as a potential witness in Katy Perry's ongoing legal battle over her $15 million California mansion.
This ongoing legal row came about after Perry and her then partner Orlando Bloom tried to buy the mansion for $15 million from army veteran Carl Westcott in 2020.
It has been reported that Westcott, 86, had moved into the house two months prior to the couple buying the estate. He has reportedly signed a real estate contract to sell his home, before later claiming that he did so while under the influence of opioids and painkillers following "a major six hour surgery".
According to Mr Westcott, this procedure left him with "seriously impaired mental faculties to the point he was of unsound mind and not competent to give his free, voluntary or intelligent consent to the contract".
A week after he signed, Carl Westcott claimed he started to feel “mentally clear again” after the effects of his surgery wore off, but stated that he no longer wanted to go ahead with the sale. He also rejected another offer from Perry and Bloom for the home, which was more than what he had paid for it.
The first part of court proceedings over this mansion started in November 2023, with Perry showing the original sale contract.
Yesterday, the legal proceedings resumed, entering the damages phase.
Last year, Katy Perry paid $9 million in escrow, and is now seeking the remaining $6 million in damages from Westcott. She has claimed that in the four years that she had to take control of the home, she lost $3 million in fair market rental income.
The singer has also claimed that Westcott's "lack of confidence" for the mansion in that time has seen her lose $2.29 million in necessary repairs to restore the home to its original state when she first bought it.
Katy Perry has since been ordered to give evidence at this month's trial.
The judge had previously denied Westcott's request to call Bloom to the stand.
“Why do you need Mr. Bloom to do that, other than to make it a celebrity circus?” Judge Joseph Lipner asked. “Why don’t you just talk to the construction person who actually did it?”.
It has also been reported that actor Chris Pratt is set to be called as a witness at this trial. Pratt is currently renting and living in the property with his family. Westcott's legal team have reportedly asked the judge to question him about the mansion's alleged damages.
Court documents have said that Perry rented out the property to Pratt and his wife. Reports from Fox New Digital have suggested that Pratt's mother in law, Maria Shiver “was bidding against Perry in 2020 to buy the Westcott Property, which is why Perry increased her original $13.5 offer to Westcott to the agreed-on $15 million price".
The court documents also allege: “The $2.29 million in estimated repairs was bogus and Perry was able to rent the Westcott Property as-is to Chris Pratt (for what some have rumored to be $150,000 in rent just for this summer)".
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom had confirmed their break up back in July. More on this here.
