US singer Chris Brown has been ordered to pay $12.9 million in damages after a Los Angeles jury found him liable for a dog attack that seriously injured his housekeeper in 2020.
The verdict followed a two-week trial over an incident at Brown’s home in Tarzana, California, where Maria Avila was attacked by a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd named Hades while taking out the rubbish.
The jury found Brown and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, liable for negligence.
According to court proceedings, Avila suffered severe injuries after the dog mauled her, leaving her with permanent facial disfigurement, scarring, vision loss and nerve damage.
She testified that the attack ripped away large sections of her skin and required multiple surgeries, including skin grafts taken from her abdomen to repair her arm.
During the trial, jurors heard that Brown left the property after the attack instead of calling emergency services.
According to testimony, he feared his presence would create a “media circus” if he spoke during the emergency call or remained at the scene.
Brown later told the court he was preparing to shower when he heard the dog growling. He said he found Avila lying on the ground covered in blood.
“The blood kind of freaked me out,” Brown testified, adding that he left the scene on the advice of his manager.
Brown admitted some responsibility before the trial but disputed the severity of Avila’s injuries.
He also argued that she was partly responsible for the incident, claiming he had warned her and her sister that the dogs were not friendly and should only be approached when security personnel were present.
Avila and her sister denied receiving any such warning, saying a language barrier would have made that conversation unlikely.
Brown maintained that the dog belonged to his security team and was kept to protect his home from intruders.
In addition to the $12.9 million awarded to Maria Avila, the court granted her sister, Patricia, $885,000 in damages.
Avila’s husband, Oscar Olivo, was also awarded $50,000.
Patricia’s lawyer, Michael C. Murphy, welcomed the verdict, saying it delivered justice after more than five years of legal proceedings.
Brown’s representatives had not publicly commented on the verdict at the time of publication.
The singer is currently touring the United States with R&B star Usher. He is also due to stand trial in the United Kingdom in October over allegations that he assaulted a music producer with a bottle at a London nightclub in 2023. Brown has denied the allegations and was granted bail pending trial.
