A California jury has ordered Chris Brown to pay nearly $13 million to a former housekeeper who said a security dog at his Los Angeles home mauled her so badly she can no longer work the way she once did.
The verdict, delivered Tuesday in Van Nuys, Calif., holds Brown and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, responsible for $12.9 million in damages to Maria Avila after the December 2020 attack at his Tarzana property. Her sister, Patricia Avila, who was working with her that day, was awarded $885,000 for emotional distress, attorney Michael C. Murphy Jr. said. Maria’s husband, Oscar Olivo, was awarded $50,000.
The jury reached its decision after a two-week trial.
Maria testified through an interpreter that the dog, Hades, left her with injuries to her arm and face, scarring, nerve damage and PTSD. “I will never be the same again,” she told jurors.
Her daughter, Yoseline Espinoza, recalled a frantic call from Patricia. “Your mom can’t breathe,” she testified Patricia told her. “The ambulance is still not here. Chris Brown fled the scene.”
Brown denied fleeing, and he reportedly testified that he secured the dog, asked security to get help, and left before paramedics arrived because, he said, “I didn’t want a misleading story, or like a circus, from my status.”
Maria’s lawyer Nancy Doumanian said the decision “acknowledges the magnitude of her losses” and proves “every person is entitled to equal justice under the law.”