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Nuns strike back in battle with Katy Perry over beautiful convent

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An appeals panel negates a previous decision allowing Perry to buy the property

Just when we thought they were down for the count, the determined nuns who have been battling pop star Katy Perry over control of a beautiful Los Feliz convent for over a year have scored a key legal victory.

As City News Service reports (via My News LA), on September 23, an appeals panel overturned Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick’s April ruling that gave the LA Archdiocese the authority to sell the convent to Perry.

Lawyers for Rita Callanan and Catherine Rose Holzman of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary say they weren’t given enough time to prepare their case prior to a hearing with Judge Boswick. They maintain that the nuns, who are hoping to sell the property to local restauranteur Dana Hollister (owner of The Brite Spot), are the true owners of the convent and do not require the permission of the Archdiocese to complete the sale.

In the earlier ruling, Judge Boswick disagreed, paving the way for Perry to purchase the convent from the Archdiocese for $14.5 million. Now, a whole new hearing will have to take place; lawyers for both parties will join Judge Boswick in hashing out the details at a status conference scheduled for October 21.

The controversy over the future of the Bernard Maybeck-designed convent will probably continue raging for a while yet. Back in 2015, another Superior Court judge said that the conflict could take two years or more to resolve.