Key Takeaways
- Chris Brown won a partial legal victory when a Los Angeles judge ruled he and his company Black Pyramid LLC are entitled to a new trial on damages unless former housekeeper Maria Avila accepts a reduced $9.5 million award instead of the original $12.9 million verdict.
- Judge Huey P. Cotton found the jury's original damages figure excessive due to insufficient evidence of permanent nerve damage and the value assigned to Avila's future pain and suffering, though he upheld evidence supporting future humiliation and shame.
- Maria Avila alleged she was mauled by Hades, Chris Brown's 200-pound Caucasian Shepherd, at his Tarzana home on December 12, 2020, suffering permanent facial disfigurement, scarring and vision loss, while Brown testified he had warned her the dogs were not friendly.
- Avila has until October 2 to decide whether to accept the reduced $9.5 million payout or pursue a new trial on damages.
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.
According to legal documents obtained by Complex, 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.
