Chris Brown and his former housekeeper Maria Avila have reached a $9.5 million resolution over a 2020 dog attack at the singer’s California home, bringing an end to a damages dispute that previously produced a $12.9 million jury award.
Avila agreed to accept the reduced amount rather than pursue another trial focused on damages, according to Rolling Stone.
The development follows Brown’s request for a new trial after a Los Angeles jury awarded Avila $12.9 million in June. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Huey P. Cotton found that portions of the award lacked sufficient evidentiary support and gave Avila a choice: accept $9.5 million or return to court for a new damages trial.
Avila chose the $9.5 million resolution.
The judge specifically found insufficient evidence supporting certain awards related to permanent nerve damage and future pain and suffering. However, Cotton upheld compensation for Avila’s emotional distress and continuing physical pain.
The ruling used remittitur, a legal procedure that allows a court to reduce a damages award rather than require the parties to go through another trial.
The underlying incident occurred on Dec. 12, 2020, at Brown’s home in Tarzana, California.
Avila testified that she was taking out trash when Brown’s approximately 200-pound Caucasian shepherd attacked her. She described suffering severe injuries to her face and arm, along with extensive scarring and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I will never be the same again,” Avila told jurors.
Brown gave a different account of the circumstances surrounding the attack. He testified that he had warned Avila and her sister, Patricia, about the dogs and instructed them not to enter the yard without security personnel.
Before the trial, Brown admitted negligence under California’s dog-bite statute, which generally holds dog owners responsible when their animals injure another person under the circumstances covered by the law.
Cotton rejected Brown’s remaining arguments for a new trial, including his challenge to evidence concerning his 2009 felony assault conviction involving Rihanna.
Patricia Avila separately received more than $850,000 for emotional distress, and that award remained intact.
Maria Avila had initially sought $90 million in her 2021 lawsuit. Her attorneys also pursued efforts to collect against Brown’s assets, including money connected to his stadium tour with Usher.
With Avila accepting the reduced award, the damages dispute will not return for another trial.
