Chris Brown Housekeeper’s $12.9M Dog Attack Award Could Be Cut by More Than $5M

Chris Brown’s former housekeeper could see more than $5 million wiped from her $12.9 million dog attack award after a Los Angeles judge signaled Thursday that he intends to sharply reduce the jury’s verdict.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Huey P. Cotton gave little indication he would retreat from a tentative ruling that would cut Maria Avila’s award by nearly 40 percent, according to her legal team. Avila won the verdict after a jury found Brown liable for damages stemming from a 2020 mauling by one of his dogs.

Attorney Nancy Doumanian urged Cotton to bring any reduced award closer to $11 million, arguing that the evidence supported substantially more compensation than the judge has proposed. Cotton instead directed much of the discussion toward how the reduction should be divided among the different categories of damages.

A central disagreement involves the extent and permanence of Avila’s nerve injuries. Doumanian challenged Cotton’s tentative finding that the trial evidence did not sufficiently establish permanent nerve damage, pointing to testimony from the surgeon who treated Avila after the attack and later performed reconstructive procedures on her face and arm.

The surgeon testified at trial that Avila suffered an injury to her radial nerve that affected movement in her wrist and fingers and interfered with activities including gripping objects, writing and dressing herself. Her attorney also cited testimony about continuing neurological problems involving her face.

Cotton said he would consider a proposal from Avila’s lawyers addressing how the reduction should be allocated, including its effect on the $900,000 jurors awarded for future medical expenses. His comments indicated that the broader reduction itself was unlikely to change.

The procedure could leave Avila with a choice between accepting a smaller award or returning to trial over damages. California law allows a judge who finds a jury’s damages excessive to condition a new trial on the winning party’s refusal to accept a court-ordered reduction, a process known as remittitur.

Cotton summarized the choice during Thursday’s hearing, telling Avila’s lawyer, “We can either retry it, or you can agree.”

A damages retrial would not necessarily reopen the entire dispute over the 2020 attack. When a court uses remittitur because it finds damages excessive, California law permits the new trial to be limited to damages rather than starting the case over on liability.

The latest development follows a June trial that ended with jurors awarding Avila $12.9 million over the Dec. 12, 2020 attack at Brown’s Tarzana home. Avila testified that she stepped outside to empty a vacuum bag when Brown’s large Caucasian shepherd, Hades, attacked her.

She suffered extensive injuries to her face and arm and underwent skin grafting and reconstructive procedures. Avila told jurors about the lasting scarring and physical limitations she attributed to the attack and described spending five days hospitalized during pandemic-era visitor restrictions.

Brown conceded negligence before the case reached the jury but disputed the extent of Avila’s damages and argued that she bore some responsibility for going outside alone. He testified that he found Avila on the ground after hearing his dog growling, secured the animal and directed his security team to call for emergency help.

After the verdict, Brown and his company, Black Pyramid LLC, sought a new trial, arguing in part that the damages were excessive. His attorneys also challenged the jury’s exposure to the fact that Brown had a prior felony conviction, contending that the information improperly influenced the size of the award.

Avila has meanwhile been trying to collect the judgment. In August, Cotton granted her an assignment of Brown’s qualifying present and future payment rights, allowing certain tour and entertainment earnings that would otherwise go to the singer to be redirected toward the judgment.

A reduction of more than $5 million would substantially shrink the judgment Avila has been pursuing through those collection proceedings.

Cotton has not issued his final ruling on the amount. He said he would consider Avila’s proposal for allocating the cuts before resolving Brown’s challenge to the jury’s damages award.