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A California civil court jury has ordered R&B singer Chris Brown to pay nearly thirteen million dollars in total damages to a former housekeeper who was severely mauled by a large dog at his residence. Following a two week trial in the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County, the jury awarded the primary plaintiff, Maria Avila, twelve point nine million dollars to account for the permanent consequences of the late 2020 attack. Additionally, her sister Patricia Avila received eight hundred eighty five thousand dollars for emotional distress and economic losses, while her husband Oscar Olivo was awarded fifty thousand dollars for loss of companionship.
The legal action stems from an incident on December 12, 2020, at Brown’s property in Tarzana, California. According to the original 2021 complaint, Avila was performing her standard housekeeping duties and emptying the trash when a Caucasian shepherd weighing more than two hundred pounds emerged and attacked her. The animal brutally bit her face, arms, and body, tearing away pieces of skin and nerves and causing multiple facial fractures. The dog involved was later euthanized by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Animal Shelter eleven days after the event.
During his court testimony, Brown claimed that his personal security team purchased the dog and asserted that he had warned the employees in English that the animals were dangerous. A legal representative for Avila noted that the workers primarily spoke Spanish. Brown also testified that he refrained from personally contacting emergency medical services due to concerns regarding media scrutiny and left the property for several hours following the incident under the explicit direction of his manager. Counsel for the plaintiff emphasized that the verdict successfully established corporate accountability, rejecting the defense’s arguments that tried to place fault on the worker.
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