Chris Brown is asking a court to toss the $12.9 million verdict against him in the dog attack case and give him a new trial. He and his company Black Pyramid LLC filed a notice of intention in Los Angeles on Friday, July 31, two weeks after the judgment was formally entered against him.
The filing lays out four arguments. His side says the damages awarded were excessive, that there were not sufficient findings to support the outcome, that jury misconduct occurred, and that irregular proceedings kept him from getting a fair trial. A hearing on the notice is set for September 22, where a judge will listen to those arguments and decide what happens next.
A notice of intention is a preliminary step rather than the motion itself. It tells the court and the other side that a formal request is coming, and it preserves the deadline to file one. Nothing about the verdict changes in the meantime.
The case goes back to December 12, 2020, when Maria Avila was working as a housekeeper at Brown’s home in Tarzana, California. She was taking out the trash when his 200 pound Caucasian shepherd, a dog named Hades, attacked her. Avila’s injuries were severe and permanent. She was left with facial disfigurement, visible scarring, partial vision loss and nerve damage, and the repairs required dozens of sutures and skin grafts.
A Los Angeles Superior Court jury returned its verdict on June 30, finding Brown and Black Pyramid liable and awarding Avila $12.9 million. The judgment was entered on July 16.
The trial itself did not go smoothly. In June it was briefly declared a mistrial after a juror looked up facts about the case outside of court, which jurors are not permitted to do. Rather than start over, the court seated a replacement juror and the trial continued to its verdict. That episode is presumably connected to the jury misconduct claim now in the filing, though the notice does not spell out which incident it refers to.
Brown is currently on the road with Usher on The R&B Tour, and his schedule is very much part of this story. Avila’s side has already moved to intercept his tour earnings to satisfy the judgment. Court filings on her behalf identified royalties, licensing agreements, merchandise sales and sponsorship deals as additional sources to pursue if the touring income does not cover what he owes. The September 22 hearing falls between the tour’s Las Vegas and Los Angeles stadium dates.
This is separate from his legal situation in London, and the two keep getting mixed up. On July 24, Brown pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to affray, a public order offense, over a 2023 brawl at a London nightclub. That plea took the more serious charges off the table, including attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of an offensive weapon. He had been on £5 million bail after spending nearly a week in custody in May 2025. His sentencing there is scheduled for October 26. Different country, different case, no connection to the dog.
For now the $12.9 million judgment stands, and September 22 is when he finds out whether he gets another shot at it.
