American singer Chris Brown has been ordered to pay $13 million in damages to the housekeeper who was mauled by a massive security dog on his property in December 2020, a California jury decided on Tuesday, June, 30.
After a two-week trial, the verdict went in favor of Maria Avila, who was viciously attacked by Hades, a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd owned by Brown, while emptying trash outside the singer’s Tarzana, California, house.
The housekeeper’s attorney, Michael C. Murphy Jr., told Billboard that Brown and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, are on the hook to pay $12.9 million to Maria Avila for negligence. That’s not all they owe. Avila’s sister, Patricia Avila, who was also on the job when the mauling took place, was awarded $885,000 for emotional distress, and Maria Avila’s husband, Oscar Olivo, was separately awarded $50,000.
Murphy told Billboard, “After more than five years of litigating against Chris Brown, we are thrilled that we were able to get justice for our client, Patricia. We are so happy for her and her family after everything they went through on that horrible day. It was an honor to represent her.”
Brown had argued that the dog was kept solely for security purposes and was not his personal pet. However, jurors may have been influenced by testimony suggesting that instead of calling 911 or helping Avila after the attack, Brown fled the blood-soaked scene and spent hours driving around.
He left his employees to contact emergency services and assist Avila, explaining that he feared his involvement would spark a “media circus” if his voice was heard on the 911 call or if he was present when police arrived.
The singer had admitted some culpability before the trial began, but testified in court that he had warned Avila and her sister about the dogs and told them only to go outside in the presence of security. The two housekeepers denied having such a conversation with Brown, noting language differences would have made such a discussion unlikely.
The verdict comes four days after Brown began a co-headlining tour with Usher that will play in stadiums across the U.S. this summer.