Chris Brown Wins Bid To Revisit $12.9 Million Dog Mauling Former Housekeeper

Chris Brown is getting another shot at the eight-figure verdict handed down against him in the dog-mauling case brought by his former housekeeper, but only if she refuses to accept less money. A Los Angeles judge Huey P. Cotton ruled that Brown and his company Black Pyramid LLC are entitled to a new trial limited to damages for Maria Avila, unless Avila consents to having her award reduced to $9.5 million. Judge Cotton denied all of Brown’s other motions in the filing. Avila was originally awarded $12.9 million by a jury. Cotton found the jury's $12.9 million figure excessive, pointing to insufficient evidence of permanent nerve damage and of the dollar value the panel attached to Avila's future pain and suffering. The judge did credit the evidence that Avila faces future humiliation, shame, and embarrassment. The rest of Brown's arguments went nowhere. Cotton rejected the claim that jurors were tainted by the admission of Brown's 2009 felony assault conviction involving Rihanna. Also rejected: Brown's objections to the exclusion of testimony about monetary help his security chief Emil Lewis gave Avila's family, and issues Brown raised regarding instructions the jury received on damages. Avila alleged she was attacked by Hades, a 200-pound Caucasian Shepherd, at Brown's Tarzana home on December 12, 2020. She said the dog tore away large sections of her skin, leaving her with permanent facial disfigurement, scarring, and vision loss. Brown testified at trial that he had warned Avila the dogs were "absolutely not" friendly and told her not to go outside alone, describing the animals as a security measure rather than pets. Jurors sided with the housekeeper in June, awarding her $12.9 million, her sister Patricia Avila $885,000 and her husband Oscar Olivo $50,000. Judgment was entered July 16. The fight over collecting it has already started. Avila's lawyer Nancy Doumanian told the court earlier this month that cutting the award to $8 million was too steep and floated $11 million instead. Avila has until Oct. 2 to tell the court whether she will take the $9.5 million or roll the dice on a second damages trial.

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