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R&B star Chris Brown has been ordered to pay $12.9m in damages to a housekeeper who was mauled by a dog at one of his properties.

Maria Avila was working at Brown’s house in Tarzana, California, in 2020 when she was attacked by Hades, a Caucasian shepherd used as a guard dog. At the trial in Van Nuys, California, Avila said she was left with serious injuries to her arm and face, requiring dozens of sutures and skin grafts from her abdomen to her arm. She said was also left with post-traumatic stress disorder, and nerve damage which made it difficult to work.

Brown was at home during the attack, and in his own testimony said he secured the dog in a kennel after it injured Avila. His security guard called an ambulance but Brown left before it arrived, telling the court he did so to avoid a “media circus, because of my status as an artist … so me just kind of staying away was advised”.

He argued the guard dog was necessary because “I get a lot of stalker-type situations”. Brown admitted negligence, but said he had warned Avila and her sister Patricia not to go outside without asking him because of the danger posed by Hades, though the Avilas denied this conversation took place. Brown also disputed the extent of Avila’s injuries.

Avila sued Brown in 2021 but the trial has only now been completed, with a jury siding with the Avilas. According to Billboard, Patricia Avila was also awarded $885,000 for emotional distress, and Maria’s husband Oscar Olivo awarded $50,000.

Michael C Murphy Jr, a lawyer for Patricia, told Rolling Stone: “After more than five years of litigating against Chris Brown, we are thrilled that we were able to get justice for our client, Patricia. We are so happy for her and her family after everything they went through on that horrible day.”

Brown has long been one of the most successful R&B artists in the US, with eight of his 12 albums certified platinum there. He is currently on a co-headlining tour with Usher, with stadium dates across the US and Canada.

The dog attack is the latest in a long line of lawsuits and criminal trials faced by Brown.

In 2009, Brown was arrested for physically assaulting his then girlfriend, pop singer Rihanna, and after a guilty plea he was sentenced to community service, a restraining order and put on probation for five years. He violated the terms of his probation while in 2014 and was jailed for 131 days. In 2016 he settled out of court after a claim of assault by a former manager, and another girlfriend, Karrueche Tran, was granted a restraining order against Brown in 2017.

In 2023, Brown was alleged to have assaulted a music producer, Abraham Diaw, at a Mayfair members’ club. Brown was arrested in 2025 and charged with grievous bodily harm with intent, and he pleaded not guilty at Southwark crown court. His trial will begin at the same court on 26 October, alongside co-defendant Omololu Akinlolu, AKA musician HoodyBaby.

Brown has himself sued a woman for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of rape on a yacht in Miami in 2020. Brown had also attempted to launch a $500m lawsuit against the makers of a documentary, Chris Brown: A History of Violence, which featured details of the alleged assault. That lawsuit was dismissed by a judge in January, who argued that the film provided balance, but the judge allowed Brown’s lawsuit against his accuser to proceed to the next stage.