Singer-songwriter Chris Brown is facing legal consequences. The singer has been ordered to pay nearly $13 million in damages to his former housekeeper after a brutal dog attack took place in his home.
The attack happened in 2020, and left the housekeeper with serious injuries, reports ‘People’ magazine.
A Los Angeles jury ruled in favor of Maria Avila, his former housekeeper, who was attacked by a 90kg Caucasian shepherd named Hades owned by Brown for security purposes. Billboard states that following the two-week trial, Brown and his company Black Pyramid LLC have to pay Avila $12.9 million for negligence.
During the trial, Avila shared that in 2020 she was taking the trash out at his Tarzana, California home when she was attacked by the dog, who ripped out “large chunks of her skin”, and left her face and arm permanently disfigured. She’s also suffered mobility issues as a result of the attack.
As per ‘People’, Avila’s sister, Patricia, who was working when the attack took place, was also awarded $885,000 and Avila’s husband, Oscar Olivo, was awarded $50,000. Brown detailed finding Avila covered in blood during the trial, sharing his initial reactions and explaining his behavior afterwards. “The blood kind of freaked me out”, Brown said during the case, adding that he was “in shock” when he fled the scene on his manager’s advice, as per the BBC.
Brown said he felt it would be a “media circus” if his voice appeared on the 911 call or if he was present when police arrived. The ‘No One Else’ singer argued that he’d warned Avila and her sister against going near the dogs, whom he called “absolutely not” friendly. However, the sisters claim the conversation never happened and highlighted their language barrier as making the alleged discussion unlikely. Brown said he kept the dog for safety as he often finds himself in “stalker-type situations”.
