Chris Brown’s housekeeper, Maria Avila, has agreed to accept a reduced $9.5 million award after a judge found the jury’s original $12.9 million verdict was not supported by the evidence. The settlement comes just weeks after a two-week trial in June, where a jury sided with Avila and awarded her a larger sum. Judge Huey Cotton made it clear last week that Avila faced a new trial on damages if she refused the reduced figure.
Avila’s lawyer, Nancy Doumanian, filed a notice of acceptance Thursday, confirming the deal. The conditional order issued Tuesday called the jury’s award “excessive” and confirmed Brown would be entitled to a new trial on damages alone if Avila rejected the new $9.5 million. Brown’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
The Mauling That Set It All Off
On December 12, 2020, a housekeeper named Avila was outside Brown’s home in the Tarzana section of the San Fernando Valley, emptying a vacuum bag, when she was attacked by a large Caucasian Shepherd, which is also known as a Central Asian Ovcharka. The dog struck her without giving any sign of warning.
As she spoke to the jury about the attack, Avila began to weep. Her account described serious wounds to her arm and face, permanent scarring, and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. “I will never be the same again,” she added in Spanish, with an interpreter translating for the court.
Avila’s hands trembled as she pulled back her sleeve to display the raised and pitted skin on her left forearm. She took off her glasses to show the scars that ran from under her left eye up across her forehead. The cuts to her face needed dozens of stitches.
What Brown Said Under Oath
Brown, 37, testified as the first witness. He recalled hearing the dog, Hades, growling outside and rushing to the scene to find Avila face down and motionless on the ground. He told jurors he locked up the dog, called out to his security guard to summon help, and bent down to make sure Avila was breathing.
He admitted he didn’t personally make the call at 911, explaining that he worried a recording would find its way into the hands of the press. He stated that he never physically touched Avila, but he told her help was coming while she lay with bloody injuries in his driveway.
Brown said he abandoned his property prior to the arrival of emergency personnel after his manager allegedly recommended he do so. He further confirmed that he never requested his security team to keep the video footage from his home that documented the incident.
The Jury’s Decision and Its Limits
Judge Cotton did not accept the jury’s decision as final. He determined that the $12.9 million award was not backed by the evidence shown during the trial. During a hearing held last week, Cotton stated that Avila would need to face a new trial on damages unless she accepted the lowered award instead.
At the hearing, Doumanian made the case that Avila sustained a significant injury to her radial nerve, which left her with limited motion in her wrist and fingers and diminished her capacity to grip things, write, type, dress herself, groom, clean, and carry out other everyday tasks. Doumanian requested that the court reduce the sum to just $11 million.
Avila’s lawyer did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment on the reasoning behind the decision. A new trial would have posed the prospect of added expense, uncertainty, and an unknown emotional toll.
The Settlement Agreement
In her notice of acceptance filed Thursday, Doumanian wrote that Avila “unequivocally accepts the [downward adjustment] and consents to the reduction of her damages award to $9,500,000.” The conditional order called the jury’s award “excessive” and confirmed Brown would be entitled to a new trial on damages alone if Avila rejected the new $9.5 million.
The settlement keeps the need for a second trial over damages from happening. Instead of receiving the full amount the jury found in her favor, Avila now takes home a reduced sum, with the case settling on damages at $9.5 million rather than the $12.9 million the jury had awarded her.
The Timeline of the Case
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec. 12, 2020 | Avila mauled by Hades outside Brown’s Tarzana home |
| June | Trial held in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, lasting two weeks |
| After trial | Judge finds $12.9 million verdict not supported by evidence |
| Last week | Hearing where Judge Cotton warned of new trial risk |
| Tuesday | Conditional order issued calling verdict “excessive” |
| Thursday | Notice of acceptance filed by Avila’s lawyer |
The Questions the Settlement Raises
After a two-week trial where the jury sided with her, Avila is walking away with less money than she was originally awarded. The judge decided the initial award was too high and ordered a negotiation instead. That outcome leaves open the larger question of what this means for Avila herself.
The settlement can be seen as a compromise between opposing positions. Brown and his team pushed back on the jury’s full award, arguing it lacked support from the evidence. Avila took the reduced figure instead of facing the risk of a new trial, which might have produced an even lower result.
A different reading is more disturbing. It proposes that a judge overturned a jury verdict by deciding the damage amount was not supported, leaving the plaintiff with less compensation than she had won at trial. The settlement keeps the finding of liability while cutting back on the remedy.
The Verdict’s Legacy
The settlement ends the case that drew attention. What Avila described about the attack — the dog pouncing without warning, the scars across her face and arm, the PTSD — struck jurors, who awarded her a significant sum.
The award no longer has any force beyond its written form. The damages total stands at $9.5 million dollars, which falls short of what the jury originally determined.
This case serves as proof that judges can lower jury awards through their own interventions. The award has now been cut for Avila, bringing to an end her lengthy legal fight over damages. Brown still faces the outcome on liability, even as the settlement trims what he must pay.
A partial record is all the public has from this settlement. Brown was found liable by the jury, the judge cut the damages, and Avila took a smaller check. Whether that counts as justice depends on your position.
Avila’s settlement means there will be no fresh trial to decide on damages. She ends up with less money than the jury initially gave her, since the case has now been settled for damages at $9.5 million instead of the $12.9 million the jury awarded.
Source material: “Chris Brown Housekeeper Accepts Reduced $9.5 Million Award for Dog Mauling,” Rolling Stone.
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