Chris Brown has been hit with a heavy payout in a trial involving his dog and his housekeeper.
On Tuesday, June 30, the With You singer was found liable by a Los Angeles jury for $13 million in the disturbing case of a dog that mauled and disfigured his housekeeper at his home in 2020.
What happened in the dog attack trial?
Following a two-week trial, the jury took Maria Avila's side, who was viciously attacked by Hades, a 200-pound Caucasian shepherd owned by Chris Brown.
The terrifying attack happened when the housekeeper was emptying the trash outside the singer's Tarzana, California, residence.
How much did the trial cost Chris Brown?
According to Maria Avila's attorney, Michael C. Murphy Jr, Chris Brown and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, are set to pay $12.9 million to the victim for negligence.
Moreover, Avila's sister, Patricia Avila, who was also working in the house at the time of the attack, has been granted $885,000 for emotional distress, and Avila's husband, Oscar Alivo, is set to receive $50,000 separately.
"After more than five years of litigating against Chris Brown, we are thrilled that we were able to get justice for our client, Patricia. We are so happy for her and her family after everything they went through on that horrible day. It was an honour to represent her," said the lawyer following the verdict.
Where was Chris Brown during the dog attack?
Chris Brown fled the horrifying scene and drove around for hours, rather than calling emergency numbers and taking care of Maria Avila, as per testimony.
This was allegedly done because he was afraid there would be a "media circus" if he were around when police arrived.
Severity of housekeeper's injuries in Chris Brown's dog attack
During her testimony, where she spoke in Spanish with an interpreter, Maria Avila revealed that she was left with severe scarring on her face and left arm, with limited mobility after surgeons grafted skin from her abdomen to repair her arm.
Furthermore, she revealed that she was not able to return to work as a housekeeper due to lack of arm strength, as well as post-traumatic stress that keeps her from being able to be around dogs kept by clients as pets.
Chris Brown had claimed that the dog was not his personal pet and was just kept in the residence for security purposes.
While the singer did admit to some responsibility prior to the trial, he testified in court that he had warned Avila and her sister about the dog and them only to go outside in the presence of security.
The two housekeepers denied having any discussions mentioned by Brown, noting that language differences would have made such a discussion not possible.
Chris Brown's legal trouble
Prior to the trial, the judge ordered that no questions about Chris Brown's felony convictions for his 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna would be asked.
The singer assaulted Rihanna, whom he has been dating for almost a year, hours before the 2009 Grammy Awards, leading to him pleading guilty to felony assault.
The court decision came just four days after Chris Brown kicked off a co-headlining tour with Usher that will take place across the US this summer.
In London, he is scheduled to face trial in October for an alleged "unprovoked attack" on music producer Abraham Diaw with a bottle in a nightclub in 2003.
