Key Takeaways
- Chris Brown and his company Black Pyramid LLC have filed notice to seek a new trial over the $12.9 million verdict stemming from his former housekeeper Maria Avila’s 2020 dog-mauling injuries, arguing irregular proceedings, jury misconduct, lack of exonerating findings, and excessive damages.
- A Los Angeles jury had found Brown liable after his 200-pound Caucasian shepherd Hades attacked Avila at his Tarzana home, leaving her with lasting facial disfigurement, partial vision loss, and nerve damage, and also awarded nearly $1 million more to her sister Patricia Avila and brother-in-law Oscar Olivo.
- With the judgment still unpaid, Avila’s lawyer has moved to freeze Brown’s touring accounts and tap profits from his co-headlining The R&B tour with Usher, as daily interest accrues ahead of a September 22 hearing on his new-trial bid.
Chris Brown is pushing back against the $12.9 million judgement he was handed last month relating to his former housekeeper's dog-bite case.
The singer and his company Black Pyramid LLC have formally declared their intention to challenge the verdict, according to TMZ, two weeks after the judgment was officially entered on July 16.
The filing cites four grounds: irregularity in the proceedings that prevented a fair trial, jury misconduct, insufficient new findings establishing innocence, and an excessive damages award for the plaintiff.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned its verdict on June 30, finding Brown and Black Pyramid LLC liable after his 200-pound Caucasian shepherd, Hades, mauled former housekeeper Maria Avila while she was emptying trash at his Tarzana home on December 12, 2020.
Avila sustained lasting facial disfigurement, visible scarring, partial vision loss, and nerve damage in the attack. At trial, she testified she could only recall "flashes" of the mauling and had to step out of the courtroom when graphic photos were shown during opening statements.
Her daughter testified about a call from her aunt: "Your mom can't breathe. She keeps passing out on me. The ambulance is still not here. Chris Brown fled the scene."
Brown acknowledged at trial that he never touched Avila, never offered her water or comfort, and left the property before paramedics arrived. He testified he did not call 911 personally, stating: "I feared a recording would be leaked to the media." He told the jury he drove around for a couple of hours before stopping at a gas station.
On why he left, Brown stated: "Because of how my image is and always used. I didn't want a misleading story, or like a circus, from my status. So me staying out of the way was advised."
The jury rejected his defense entirely, including his claim that he had warned Avila the dogs were "absolutely not" friendly and that Hades had been purchased by security staff rather than kept as a personal pet.
The $12.9 million award to Avila is part of a combined total of roughly $13.835 million: the jury separately awarded her sister Patricia Avila $885,000 for emotional distress and her husband Oscar Olivo $50,000.
The judgment sits unpaid. Avila's attorney Nancy Doumanian filed a motion on July 23 to freeze Brown's touring accounts, stating that Brown and Black Pyramid LLC "have made no effort to satisfy any portion of the judgment."
The motion noted that attempts to contact Brown's attorneys about payment had gone unanswered, per Billboard. Daily interest continues to accrue on the balance.
Brown is currently co-headlining The R&B tour with Usher, a Live Nation-promoted stadium run that launched June 26 and is scheduled to stretch through December across more than 50 dates. If touring income falls short, the motion identified royalties, licensing agreements, merchandise sales, and sponsorship deals as additional sources.
The new-trial hearing is scheduled for September 22, a date that falls between the The R&B tour's Las Vegas and Los Angeles stadium stops.
