A jury has found that a businesswoman must pay $5 million to singer Katy Perry and the archdiocese of Los Angeles because she intentionally interfered with the sale to Perry of a hilltop property that was once a convent, the AP reports. The jury found Friday that entrepreneur Dana Hollister should pay the archdiocese $3.47 million and Perry $1.57 million for interference with contractual relations and other misdeeds. The 33-year-old pop star has sought to buy the 8-acre property and its Roman-villa style buildings in the city's Los Feliz neighborhood for $14.5 million and to relocate an adjoining house of prayer used by priests. Her bid has the approval of Los Angeles' archbishop.
But Hollister stepped in and attempted to purchase the property from two nuns who had lived there. A judge voided that sale earlier this year, saying the archdiocese had the right to sell the property, not the nuns. The jury found that her actions led to Perry and the archdiocese having to pay exorbitant lawyer fees and other costs, which Hollister should get the bill for. Her lawyer Michael Geibelson said in court that she thought she had a correct and legal contract and intended no harm. Perry and the archdiocese are still working out the terms of the sale. The archdiocese needs permission from the Vatican to finalize it. The trial moves to a second phase in December, when the jury will decide if Hollister should pay punitive damages.
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