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Chris Brown must pay his housekeeper $12.9 million after his 200-pound dog mauled her while working at his home.A jury ruled on Tuesday, June 30, that Brown and his company Black Pyramid owe Maria Avila $12.9 million in damages for negligence, after the "No Guidance" singer's Caucasian shepherd Hades attacked her for no apparent reason, according to Billboard, which was first to report the news. Maria Avila's sister Patricia Avila was also awarded $885,000, and $50,000 was awarded to her husband, Oscar Olivo, both of whom also worked for Brown.The incident happened in December 2020, when Maria Avila was attacked while emptying the trash outside of Brown's home in Tarzana, California. Hades bit off "large chunks of her skin" and some bone, according to her testimony, given in Spanish and translated, and left her with severe injuries to her arm and face, painful scarring and post-traumatic stress disorder, per Rolling Stone.She testified that surgeons grafted so much skin from her abdomen that she was unable to bend at the waist during her recovery, and that lacerations to her face required dozens of sutures, according to Rolling Stone. She is also now unable to work as a housekeeper, both physically due to nerve damage and chronic sensitivity, as well as mentally, given her now fear of dogs. "I will never be the same again," she told jurors, per the outlet.USA TODAY has reached out to lawyers for Avila and Brown for comment.During the two-week trial in June, Brown, 37, testified that while he accepted some liability, he had warned the housekeepers the dogs were "absolutely not" friendly and that they should not go out without security, per Billboard. The dogs were not personal pets, he said, and were used and looked after by security to help prevent break-ins and "stalker-type situations."But the housekeepers testified that the conversation did not happen, and would have been difficult given the language barrier. According to the Avilas' lawsuit, as Maria lay on the ground "barely able to see" and "in a pool of her own blood," Brown approached and stood over her, talking on her phone and instructing his team to grab the dogs and leave the home, and that Brown left the scene as well before police and fire personnel arrived. Neither Brown nor anyone on scene came to her assistance beforehand, per the lawsuit.Chris Brown's Caucasian shepherd dog euthanized after attackThe Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Animal Shelter in California euthanized Hades days after the attack, with the agency finding the dog was "dangerous and vicious" and "continued to exhibit extreme aggression even when in the pound," according to the suit.Caucasian shepherds are a dog breed historically used as guard dogs in Russian prisons and have been used to kill wolves, bears and humans.The ruling came after the judge declared a mistrial in mid-June, after a juror searched the internet for information and shared it, requiring the selection of a new jury. The new jury in a second trial handed down the ruling on June 30.Chris Brown tour with Usher interrupted by legal issuesThe ruling comes days into Brown's joint tour with Usher, the R&B Tour, with 50+ dates through December, including its next stop in Detroit on July 2.But Brown is also facing more legal trouble amid the tour. In 2025, the singer was arrested and charged in the United Kingdom with inflicting grievous bodily harm over what prosecutors said was an "unprovoked attack" on music producer Amadou "Abe" Diaw in a London nightclub in 2023. He is currently out on bail and has pleaded not guilty. The trial is set for October.Contributing: Reuters
