Chris Brown's Ex-Housekeeper Seeks to Collect $13 Million Dog Attack Verdict From Usher Tour Profits

The former housekeeper who won a $13 million jury verdict against Chris Brown over a brutal dog attack says the singer has yet to pay her a dime, and she's now asking a court to let her collect from the earnings of his ongoing stadium tour with Usher.

A Los Angeles-area jury sided with Maria Avila at the end of June, awarding her nearly $12.9 million after finding that Brown was responsible for injuries she suffered when a 200-pound dog attacked her while she was working at his home in 2020. Avila's attorney, Nancy Doumanian, says that despite the verdict, Brown and his company have taken no steps in the weeks since to satisfy any part of the judgment.

In a motion filed last Thursday, Doumanian wrote that her repeated attempts to reach Brown's legal team about payment have gone unanswered, even as the singer continues to headline a lucrative run of shows across North America.

That run is the R&B Tour, a stadium trek pairing Brown with Usher that kicked off June 26 and is scheduled to continue through December. Avila's legal team argues that with the tour actively generating revenue, a portion of those profits should be set aside specifically to cover her unpaid judgment, which they note will keep growing due to daily interest accruing on the unpaid balance.

To make sure that money doesn't disappear before she can collect, Avila is asking a judge to freeze the accounts associated with the tour. Her attorneys have also floated the possibility that, if touring income alone isn't enough to cover the full amount owed, the court could order payment drawn from Brown's music royalties, licensing agreements, merchandise sales or sponsorship deals.

The underlying case dates back to 2021, when Avila sued Brown after being attacked by his dog, a Caucasian shepherd named Hades, while she was taking out the trash outside his Tarzana home the previous year. The breed is known for its imposing size and aggressive temperament, and has historically been used as a guard dog at Russian prison facilities.

According to Avila's claims, the attack tore away significant portions of skin from her body, leaving her with lasting facial disfigurement, visible scarring, partial vision loss and nerve damage.

The dispute reached trial last month, stretching over two weeks in a Los Angeles courtroom. Brown had already conceded some degree of negligence before the trial began, but his defense pushed back hard on two fronts: the true extent of Avila's injuries, and the argument that she bore some responsibility for what happened to her that day.

Taking the stand in his own defense, Brown told jurors he had explicitly warned Avila that the dogs kept on his property were not friendly and should be avoided unless she was accompanied by a member of his security team. He further testified that Hades wasn't a personal pet of his at all, but rather an animal his security staff had acquired and cared for as a means of protecting the property from potential intruders.

The jury ultimately rejected Brown's defense and ruled in Avila's favor, awarding her $12.9 million to cover physical pain, emotional trauma and medical costs stemming from the attack. Avila wasn't the only member of her family compensated in the verdict. Her sister, who witnessed the attack while also present at Brown's home that day, received a separate award of $885,000 for emotional distress, while Avila's husband was awarded an additional $50,000.