Chris Brown ordered to pay housekeeper $13m after dog attack

Image source, Reuters By Steven McIntosh Entertainment reporter Published 4 minutes ago US singer Chris Brown has been found liable for a dog attack that left his housekeeper mauled and disfigured at his home in 2020. Following a two-week trial in Los Angeles, the jury found in favour of Maria Avila, who was attacked by a 200lb (90kg) Caucasian shepherd owned by Brown while she was emptying the rubbish at his house in Tarzana, California. Brown and his company Black Pyramid LLC must now pay her $12.9m (£9.7m) for negligence, according to US publication Billboard , external . BBC News has contacted representatives for Brown for comment. Aliva said the dog, named Hades, ripped off "large chunks of her skin", which subsequently led to permanent facial disfigurement, scarring, vision loss and nerve damage. Brown had claimed that the dog was kept for security purposes and was not his personal pet. During the trial, the jury heard testimony that indicated that, instead of calling the emergency services or attending to Aliva himself, Brown fled the scene following the attack, Rolling Stone reported , external . The jury heard that he left his employees to care for Aliva, saying he feared there would be a "media circus" if his voice was heard on the 911 call or was present when police arrived. 'A lot of blood' Brown said he had been about to shower when he heard the dog growling, and went downstairs to find Avila lying motionless and covered in "a lot of blood". "The blood kind of freaked me out," he said, adding that he was "in shock" when he followed his manager's advice to leave the scene before emergency services arrived. Brown admitted some culpability before the trial began, but he disputed the extent of Maria's injuries and argued that she was partially at fault for the incident. The singer said he had warned the sisters the dogs were "absolutely not" friendly and told them only to go outside when security were present. The two housekeepers denied that conversation with Brown took place, and said the language barrier would have made such a discussion unlikely. Brown said the dog was purchased and looked after by his security guards to help protect the house from break-ins, telling the jury: "I get a lot of stalker-type situations." Speaking in Spanish with an interpreter, Avila told the court she was left with severe scarring on her face and left arm, as well as limited mobility after surgeons grafted skin from her abdomen to repair her arm. Rolling Stone reported that she showed the jury "a pattern of scars running from beneath her left eye up across her forehead" as well as the "raised and pitted skin" on her forearm. She stated in testimony that she had not been able to return to work as a housekeeper because of a lack in arm strength, as well as post-traumatic stress that prevents her being around dogs. A further $885,000 (£668,000) has been awarded to Aliva's sister Patricia, who was also working when the attack took place. Maria Aliva's hu