Maria Avila Chris Brown settlement shifted on Tuesday when a Los Angeles Superior Court judge said she can take $9.5 million or return for a new trial on damages. The ruling trims a nearly $12.9 million jury award after Chris Brown was found liable in the 2020 dog attack case.
Maria Avila, a housekeeper and plaintiff, was hospitalized with injuries to her face, arm and leg after the attack. The judge said the jury’s award to Maria Avila is excessive and gave her until Tuesday to choose between the reduced amount and a new damages trial.
Los Angeles Superior Court ruling
The decision changes only the damages side of the case. The court left Patricia Avila’s award unchanged, keeping the earlier $885,000 order in place, while Brown and Black Pyramid Co. remain the defendants tied to the underlying liability finding.
That split matters because it separates the question of responsibility from the question of price. Brown has already been found liable earlier this year, so Tuesday’s ruling did not reopen whether the case exists at all; it only reopened how much the injury claim is worth.
July verdict from Van Nuys
The jury verdict in July followed a two-week trial in June in Van Nuys, where Maria Avila’s damages were set at nearly $12.9 million. The court later said there was insufficient evidence of extensive permanent nerve damage and insufficient evidence to support the value assigned to future pain and suffering.
Maria Soledad Avila Marmolejo is the name used for Maria Avila in court documents. Her claim began with the December 2020 attack allegation, after she and Patricia Avila said they were hired in November 2020 as housekeepers at Brown’s home in Tarzana.
Maria Avila’s choice
The practical decision now sits with Maria Avila: accept $9.5 million or risk a new damages trial. For a plaintiff, that is the difference between taking a reduced civil award immediately and asking another jury to put a fresh number on the injuries, the hospitalization, and the long tail of pain that followed.
Given the court’s ruling, the smart move is to treat $9.5 million as the floor and the new trial as the gamble. A reduced award is the cleaner exit; a retrial keeps the case alive and leaves the final number open.
