Katy Perry testifies in Montecito mansion trial, says she seeks 'justice'

Katy Perry testified remotely in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday, telling a lawyer that she was seeking “justice” in a long-running dispute over a $15 million Montecito mansion she and former partner Orlando Bloom bought in 2020.

During roughly an hour of tense, carefully measured testimony, the pop star and former “American Idol” judge declined to say directly that she would gain money if the trial went her way, instead answering a lawyer’s question about whether she stood to gain anything with the single word, “Justice.” She added that she stood to lose money if the proceedings did not resolve in her favor.

The testimony came in a sequel trial over the Montecito home after an earlier phase of litigation concluded in 2023. The seller, 85-year-old Carl Westcott, sued to undo the sale, saying he was not mentally competent when he agreed to sell the property in 2020. In the first trial, Perry’s side — with her business manager, Bernie Gudvi, named as the technical defendant — prevailed.

Following that verdict, Gudvi filed a countersuit claiming lost rental income tied to the ongoing legal fight and alleging millions in maintenance costs for the house. That countersuit prompted the current round of litigation, in which Westcott seeks to rescind the sale and recover damages.

Westcott’s lawyer, Andrew J. Thomas, frequently sought to shape the testimony during Tuesday’s remote appearance, pressing on issues of the purchase and the parties’ interactions. Perry’s responses were cautious and focused on the larger aim she described for bringing her testimony to the court: a resolution that she characterized as fair.

Court records show the home was purchased in 2020, and the dispute has since moved through multiple filings and hearings. Witnesses, experts and documentary evidence from both sides have been deployed in prior proceedings to address Westcott’s claims of diminished capacity and the defendants’ counterarguments that the sale was valid.

Perry’s remote testimony is among several high-profile moments in a case that has drawn public attention because of the celebrity involved and the upscale Montecito setting that has been the subject of other recent litigation. The current trial remains ongoing, with additional witnesses and evidence expected as the parties continue to litigate claims tied to the original purchase, subsequent expenses and alleged lost revenue.

Attorneys for both sides declined to comment beyond court filings. The judge will consider the evidence presented in this phase as the case moves toward resolution; no new ruling was announced at the close of Tuesday’s testimony.