Well, the Katy Perry vs. nuns legal battle over a beautiful old convent in Los Feliz continues to be super weird—now the place is going to sit empty while someone pays $25,000 a month in rent. Perry is attempting to buy the former home of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which was originally built in 1927 for a prominent car dealer, from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, for $15.5 million. But the sisters say the archdiocese gave them permission to sell the convent themselves, and they made a deal with local hotelier Dana Hollister, who agreed to pay $14.5 million and too ownership several months ago.
In July, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant said the nuns' sale to Hollister "was improper and invalid," but that he'd bar Perry from buying the place until things were completely worked out, which he himself said could take a couple of years. Meanwhile he wanted Perry and Hollister to duke it out for rental rights. Well, Hollister won rental rights … sort of. Hollister has agreed to pay $25,000 a month for the property and to leave it altogether. She'll be allowed to go in with 24 hours notice "to all parties involved in the dispute" in the case of emergency repairs, reports the Los Feliz Ledger. Starting November 1, she'll also have to submit a monthly report to the archdiocese on repairs and their costs.
Hollister volunteered to pay up and get up to "de-escalate some of the tension," one of her lawyers tells the LFL. Rent will go to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary's nonprofit institute and even the archdiocese's lawyer was kind of blown away by the deal: "I'm amazed," he told the LA Times.
Perry's reps didn't speak at the hearing yesterday. Hearings will begin in October to decide who actually has the right to sell the property.
· Hollister to Rent Waverly Retreat [LFL]
· The Katy Perry/Nun Convent War Lawsuit is Turning Out Predictably Bonkers [Curbed LA]