Katy Perry and Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese win millions in legal battle over convent

The popular singer Katy Perry has been awarded $1.6 million (£1.2 million) after a long-running court battle over her purchase of a convent in Los Angeles, music-news.com reported.

The ruling comes after Perry, 33, originally sought to buy the Los Feliz property from the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles for $14.5 million (£11 million) in 2015.

The convent closed in 2011, but two nuns who had lived there accepted a separate bid from a businesswoman, Dana Hollister.

Perry won legal control of the property in March, and on Friday a Los Angeles jury found Hollister guilty of interfering with the pop star's transaction.

The archdiocese was awarded $3.5 million (£2.7 million) in lawyers' fees, while Perry's firm Bird Nest LLC was awarded $1.6 million, according to Variety magazine.

The jury also agreed that Hollister acted with malice, presenting Perry and the archdiocese the chance to recover punitive damages in another phase of the trial next month.

The nuns who had lived on the convent reportedly opposed selling to the singer and instead tried to sell the property to Hollister. However, a judge ruled that the archdiocese held the rights to the property.

Hollister's lawyer, Michael Geibelson, has vowed to appeal the decision.

Perry reportedly planned to convert the convent into a family home for herself and her mother.

Final approval over the sale will ultimately come from officials at the Vatican, according to reports.