A California jury has found American singer, Chris Brown liable for a 2020 dog attack that left his former housekeeper, Maria Avila, mauled and permanently disfigured, ordering him and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, to pay a combined $13 million in damages.

The verdict, delivered in Van Nuys after a two-week trial, saw Brown and his company held responsible for $12.9 million in damages to Avila for negligence, while her sister Patricia, who was present during the attack, was awarded $885,000 for emotional distress, and Avila’s husband received a separate $50,000 award.

The attack occurred in December 2020 when Hades, a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd owned by Brown, mauled Avila as she took out the trash outside the singer’s home in Tarzana, California. Testifying through a Spanish interpreter, Avila told the court she suffered severe scarring to her face and left arm, requiring surgeons to graft skin from her abdomen to repair the damage. She said the trauma has left her unable to return to housekeeping work, both due to reduced arm strength and a lasting fear of dogs.

Brown had admitted partial culpability before the trial began, telling jurors he had warned the Avila sisters to stay indoors unless accompanied by security.

The housekeepers disputed this account, saying a language barrier made such a conversation unlikely to have taken place. The verdict lands just days after Brown kicked off a co-headlining stadium tour with Usher across the United States, and comes ahead of a separate trial he faces in London in October over an alleged nightclub assault on a music producer.

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