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Chris Brown Ordered to Pay $13 Million After Jury Sides With Housekeeper in Dog Attack Case
A jury ordered Chris Brown to pay $12.9M to his housekeeper and additional damages to her family after a 2020 dog attack at his California home.
In an era where celebrity missteps increasingly land in courtrooms as much as headlines, a jury has found Chris Brown liable for a violent incident at his home that left a housekeeper with permanent injuries.
On Tuesday (June 30), Billboard reported that the jury awarded Maria Avila roughly $12.9 million for negligence. The verdict also includes $885,000 to Avila’s sister, Patricia, for emotional distress, and $50,000 to Maria’s husband, Oscar Olivo. Patricia was reportedly present when the attack happened, and Oscar says Maria’s injuries have affected their intimacy.
The suit alleges Maria “was mauled by the crooner’s 200-pound Caucasian Shepherd dog while taking out the trash at Chris’ California home in 2020.”
Avila sued Brown in April 2021, seeking as much as $90 million, saying the mauling left her with lifelong scarring and physical harm. The jury’s award is a fraction of that demand but still substantial: it underscores the severity of the injuries jurors found to be Brown’s responsibility.
During the trial, Brown reportedly testified that he had warned Maria and her sister the dogs were not friendly and told them not to go outside unless accompanied by his security. The retrial verdict arrives two weeks after the first effort collapsed into a mistrial amid juror misconduct.
XXL has reached out to Chris Brown’s team and attorney for comment.
Elsewhere: the tour continues
The legal fallout is unfolding while Brown is on the road with Usher for The R&B Tour. The trek began June 26 in Denver and is slated to hit about 40 cities, including Detroit, Washington D.C., Toronto, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, and more, before closing in Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 12.
The case will likely be dissected in the press and legal analysis alike, a reminder that headline-making artists often take their controversies into public courtrooms where juries decide not just blame but financial consequences.
