American singer Chris Brown has been ordered to pay nearly $13 million in damages after a jury found him liable for a dog attack that seriously injured his housekeeper at his California home.
The verdict followed a two-week trial in Los Angeles, where jurors ruled in favor of Maria Avila, who was attacked by a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd named Hades while taking out the trash at Brown’s Tarzana residence in 2020.
The court awarded Avila $12.9 million in damages after finding Brown and his company negligent.
According to Avila, the dog mauled her, tearing away large sections of skin and leaving her with permanent facial disfigurement, severe scarring, vision loss, and nerve damage.During the trial, jurors heard testimony that Brown left the property after the attack instead of calling emergency services or assisting the injured housekeeper.
Brown admitted he left the scene because he feared his presence would attract media attention, saying he was in shock after seeing the amount of blood.Brown argued that the dog was kept for security purposes and was not his personal pet.
He also claimed he had warned the housekeepers that the dogs were not friendly and instructed them not to enter certain areas without security personnel present. However, the housekeepers denied receiving any such warning, stating that language differences would have made that conversation unlikely.
Avila told the court she underwent multiple surgeries, including skin grafts taken from her abdomen to repair injuries to her arm. She also revealed that the attack left her unable to return to work as a housekeeper because of reduced strength in her arm and post-traumatic stress that makes her fearful of dogs.
The court also awarded $885,000 to Avila’s sister, Patricia, who was working at the property during the incident.
Maria Avila’s husband, Oscar Olivo, received an additional $50,000 in damages.Brown is currently touring the United States with R&B star Usher. Meanwhile, he is also due to stand trial in the United Kingdom later this year over allegations that he assaulted a music producer with a bottle during an incident at a London nightclub in 2023. Brown has denied the charges and remains on bail ahead of the trial.
