The former housekeeper mauled by a 200-pound dog at Chris Brown’s house has agreed to cut several million dollars off her $13 million trial verdict against the R&B star.
On Tuesday (Sept. 29), Los Angeles County Judge Huey P. Cotton gave victim Maria Avila the choice to either retry her claims against Brown or walk away with a reduced $9.5 million damages award. The next day (Sept. 30), Avila chose option two.
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“Plaintiff Maria Avila hereby unequivocally accepts the remittitur and consents to the reduction of her damages award,” wrote Avila’s attorney, Nancy Doumanian.
In June, a jury awarded Avila $12.9 million for the physical and emotional wounds she suffered from being mauled by a Caucasian shepherd — a massive, aggressive dog breed notorious for their use as guard dogs at Russian prisons — while working at Brown’s Tarzana, Calif., home in 2020. Brown accepted some liability for the incident but said Avila was partially at fault, testifying during the trial that he specifically warned her not to go outside unaccompanied because of the unfriendly dog, Hades.
Judge Cotton ruled Tuesday that Brown got a fair trial overall, rejecting the singer’s argument that jurors were biased because they heard mention of his infamous 2008 assault of Rihanna. However, the judge said the $12.9 million verdict was too high to match Avila’s injuries.
Avila claims Hades ripped off “large chunks of her skin,” causing long-term facial disfigurement, scarring, vision loss and nerve damage. Judge Cotton said Avila should indeed be compensated for emotional distress and “persistent pain” from the incident, but that there was “insufficient evidence of extensive permanent nerve damage.” He said $9.5 million was a more accurate figure.
Brown’s lawyers previously made moves to appeal Avila’s original $12.9 million verdict. They did not immediately return an inquiry on Thursday (Oct. 1) asking whether they still intend to appeal the reduced amount.
The singer is currently on the road with Usher for their co-headlining R&B Tour. A portion of his profits have been earmarked for paying Avila’s judgment.