Katy Perry closer to purchasing Los Angeles convent

Singer-songwriter Katy Perry is a tad closer to being able to purchase a Catholic convent in Los Angeles and call it her home.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie Bowick approved the motion of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to invalidate the sale of the Los Feliz convent to restaurateur Dana Hollister. According to the Huffington Post, the judge made the documents between the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Hollister void, saying that the nuns did not have the right to sell the property. Even if they did have the right, the transaction was not property validated.

Previously, Perry had offered to purchase the 8-acre property, but the nuns rejected it. They instead accepted Hollister's $15.5 million bid, with the restaurateur reportedly planning to make it into a boutique hotel. The archdiocese filed a lawsuit in June last year contending that the nuns did not have the right to conduct the sale, and the property falls under the archdiocese's jurisdiction.

Entrepreneur reported that the Archdiocese stepped in "to protect all the five sisters from being taken advantage of," since Hollister reportedly took possession of the estate but paid only $44,000 in cash plus a contingent promisory note. Hollister's plans of converting it into a hotel also raised concerns from residents in the area.

The archdiocese said that it is still under contract to sell the convent to Perry for $14.5 million. The court's ruling is a step closer to the singer's purchase of the controversial property.

"We won the real property issues," Perry's legal counsel Eric Rowen said in a statement, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. 

However, according to John Scholnick, the nuns' attorney, "As far as I'm concerned, it's still game on." 

Scholnick also said in a phone interview with the Boston Globe. "We're studying the 27-page opinion and we'll consider our options, including filing an appeal."

The nuns, who are now in their '70s and '80s, lived in the convent for 40 years.

The Lawyer Herald said that the archbishop of Los Angeles has already approved Perry's bid, which includes relocating a nearby house used by priests, but he is still waiting for approval from the Vatican.