Rich Fury / Getty Images and Fox 11 News
A bitter legal battle between pop star Katy Perry, an aging group of nuns, and a Los Angeles restauranteur took a tragic turn on Friday when one of the nuns died during a court appearance.
Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, collapsed and died during legal proceedings over a hillside convent in Los Feliz worth millions, reported FOX 11.
Holzman spoke to Fox 11 as she walked into the LA County Court on Friday and pleaded with the singer to end the legal fight over the convent the nuns lived in from 1971 until 2011.
"To Katy Perry, to please stop. It’s not doing anyone any good except hurting a lot of people," she said.
Fox 11 / Via foxla.com
Holzman was one of only two remaining Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary nuns.
Her death was announced on a website set up to highlight their legal battle.
"Rest with the angels, our most precious treasure," read the tribute.
Holzman and other nuns from Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary purchased the convent in 1971, before being evicted by the LA Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2011.
The legal fight is over who has the right to sell the valuable property, a sprawling eight-acre Bernard Maybeck-designed estate full of manicured gardens, turrets, and fountains.
Nick Ut / AP
The Archdiocese agreed to sell the the convent to Perry for $14.5 million in 2015, while the nuns arranged to sell it to a LA restaurateur and hotelier, Dana Hollister, for $15.5 million.
Perry and the Archdiocese sued, claiming the nuns did not have the right to sell the property and that Hollister had manipulated the nuns, a claim they strongly disputed.
Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, left, and Sister Rita Callanan with Dana Hollister in 2015.
Anthony Mccartney / AP
The courts ruled in favor of Perry and the Archdiocese, and in December 2017 declared that Hollister pay $15 million in damages. Hollister declared bankruptcy this week.
The nuns released a documentary about their real estate battle on YouTube last week.
In a post on their site advertising their documentary, Sister Rita Rita Callanan and Sister Catherine Rose, wrote:
Our Sisters were supposed to live for the rest of our lives at our beloved Convent. But, against our will, the Archdiocese removed us to 'monetize' our property. Katy Perry wants it and she has no concern for the terrible path of destruction she is creating to get it. She is deeply hurting us and our friends who have stepped up to help us.
Representatives for Perry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2IdVqcV
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