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Attorneys for the pop singer and the Catholic Archdiocese of
Los Angeles faced off in court on Thursday against lawyers for a
group of nuns who live at the property and a restaurateur trying
to buy it from them.
Perry has offered to purchase the majestic 8-acre (3-hectare)
property, built in the style of a Roman villa, for $14.5
million.
But the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary have rebuffed
the 30-year-old performer, accepting a competing $15.5 million
bid of restaurant owner Dana Hollister.
The archdiocese, asserting that the restaurateur is out to take
advantage of the five nuns, filed a lawsuit in June claiming it
had the final say over disposition of the property for the nuns'
benefit.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant tentatively
sided with church officials, voiding the sale to Hollister but
stopping short of ruling that the archdiocese could sell the
former convent to Perry.
For the time being, the judge said he would allow Hollister to
lease possession of the property for $25,000 a month in rent.
And in a last-minute twist, an archdiocese attorney told the
judge that Perry wished to submit a competing bid to rent the
property.
"We'll have a battle of potential lessees of this property for
the benefit of the sisters," Chalfant said.
The judge, expressing concern the property is maintained and the
nuns' needs are met, set a Sept. 15 hearing for attorneys to
present arguments on who should ultimately occupy it.
Perry, a former Christian singer who crossed into the pop
mainstream on the strength of such hits as "I Kissed a Girl" and
"Firework," and is known for her playful but sexually frank
persona, wants to buy the grounds of the former convent to live
there, her attorney, Michael Starler, told reporters.
The five surviving nuns from the convent hope to share net
proceeds of a sale, said their attorney, Bernie Resser.
"Obviously, Catholic nuns are not particularly enamored of the
image that Katy Perry puts out," he said outside the court.
The judge indicated the lawsuit could drag on for another two
years.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Steve Gorman and
Robert Birsel)
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