In June, Chris Brown’s former housekeeper, Maria Avila, won a lawsuit against the entertainer after she was “severely” injured in a vicious attack by one of his dogs.
Avila was awarded $12.9 million, and a judge now says that his tour receipts can be used to honor the judgment.
Brown is currently on the road with Usher on the R&B Tour, where the two perform together and individually. The tour started in June and has already earned more than $100M, per Billboard.
It’s expected to go through mid-December, ending the first U.S. leg on Dec. 12 in Tampa.
Judge Huey P. Cotton ruled this week that Avila should receive “all present and future nonexempt rights to payment.” Her attorneys say Brown, through his company Black Pyramid, LLC, has made no effort to honor the judgment.
Avila was attacked by a Caucasian shepherd named Hades when she went to take out the trash at the singer’s Tarzana, California home. The housekeeper was “severely injured” in the attack, which left her with facial disfigurement, vision loss, and nerve damage that required skin grafts. Her sister was also awarded more than $800,000, and her husband, $50,000.
Brown’s lawyers took some responsibility for the incident, but said that Brown warned Avila that the 200-pound dog was there for security only and that she shouldn’t leave the house unaccompanied.
Avila can collect directly from tour proceeds under a California law that allows for victims to bypass traditional payments. Because over 70% of civil court settlements go unpaid, California issued an assignment order that allows Avila access to profits from the tour before Brown gets them.
His promoter, in this case, Live Nation, would be forced to write Avila a check. That includes daily interest applied to the amount due. Avila’s lawyers say this was their last resort after they “repeatedly attempted to communicate with defendant’s attorneys regarding payment, but those communications have gone unanswered.”
It’s not like Brown doesn’t have the money. His Breezy Bowl XX Tour grossed almost $300M over 49 shows. Brown can continue touring while awaiting sentencing for his conviction of ‘affray’ in a London case that involved a 2023 fight in a nightclub. Affray means a fight or violence in a public place. Brown faces up to three years in that case after pleading guilty to the charges in July.
See social media’s reaction to the ruling below.
