Chris Brown Wins New Dog Attack Trial—If Housekeeper Takes $9.5M

A Los Angeles County judge has ruled that Chris Brown is entitled to a new trial over the $12.9 million in damages a jury awarded to housekeeper Maria Avila—but only if Avila rejects a reduced award of $9.5 million.

Judge Huey P. Cotton issued the conditional order on Tuesday, according to Billboard. "The court finds that the jury's award to Maria Avila is excessive," the order stated. "The court elects to issue a conditional order granting a new trial, as to Maria Avila only, on the issue of damages unless Plaintiff consents to a reduction of the jury's damages to $9.5 million."

Avila now faces a choice: accept $3.4 million less than the jury's verdict, or return to court to retry her damages claims against the R&B singer.

The case stems from a Dec. 12, 2020, mauling at Brown's home in Tarzana, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. A 200-pound dog attacked Avila while she was working. During the two-week trial last June, Avila took the witness stand and broke down crying as she recounted the incident for jurors.

Avila testified the attack left her with severe injuries to her arm and face, extensive scarring, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In Tuesday's decision, Cotton said Avila should be compensated for emotional distress and "persistent pain" from the attack, but found there was "insufficient evidence of extensive permanent nerve damage."

The judge left one part of the jury's verdict untouched. Cotton kept intact a separate $855,000 award to Avila's sister, Patricia Avila, who was working with Maria at the time of the attack. That amount covered past economic damages and emotional distress.

Before trial, Brown admitted negligence under California's dog-bite statute. But he continued to dispute the extent of Avila's injuries. Brown claimed he had warned Avila and her sister—both Spanish speakers—not to go outside without asking him first, because his dogs were not friendly. The women denied that conversation ever took place.

Cotton also rejected an argument from Brown's lawyers that jurors were biased. The attorneys claimed prejudice arose because Brown's felony conviction for his 2009 domestic violence assault on his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, came up during proceedings. Jurors did not hear details of that incident, only that the conviction existed on Brown's record.

Neither side responded to requests for comment. A lawyer for Avila did not immediately respond, and a representative for Brown did not immediately respond either.

Avila's decision on the reduced award will determine whether the case returns to a courtroom or ends with a $9.5 million payment.