Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick 'extinguished' the deed to sell the property to restaurateur Dana Hollister.
- Apr 14, 2016
AceShowbiz - Katy Perry is free to buy an 8-acre Roman Catholic covenant which has only been inhabited by a few elderly nuns. A judge ruled on Wednesday, April 13 that the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary's attempts to sell the property to businesswoman and Los Angeles restaurateur Dana Hollister were improper.
Perry has been eying the Roman-style villa located in Los Feliz neighborhood for years now, offering $14.5 million to turn it into a private residence. She's gotten the approval from the Los Angeles' archbishop although the Vatican gets a say as well.
Meanwhile, the nuns preferred to sell the institution's non-profit asset for $15.5 million to Hollister. The Los Angeles Archdiocese fought to stop the sale, arguing that the church has jurisdiction and that the nuns' sale was unauthorized. The archdiocese filed a lawsuit last June asserting that it had the final say over disposition of the property for the nuns' benefit.
The fact that Hollister would turn the covenant into a boutique hotel also concerned some neighbors, prompting Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick to approve the archdiocese's motion to block the sale to Hollister in its entirety.
Perry's attorney Eric Rowen said in a statement that they were pleased with the result but the nuns' representative John Scholnick said they planned to appeal. "As far as I'm concerned," Scholnick said, "it's still game on." Bowick will write a formal ruling on Wednesday afternoon.
The real estate dispute has been going on for months now. At the archbishop's request, the nuns met Perry, daughter of Protestant pastors, in May 2014 to see whether they could compromise. At least two of the surviving five nuns were not moved by the meeting. They reportedly were not pleased with Perry after finding out about her and watching her music videos.
