A Los Angeles civil trial involving singer Chris Brown – on allegations his dog Hades mauled his former housekeeper Maria Avila in 2020 – was declared a mistrial on Tuesday after it was determined that a juror broke rules set forth by the court.
The Grammy-winner, 37, was present in Los Angeles on Tuesday and told to return Thursday, at which time testimony will commence for a new trial.
On Tuesday, Brown told TMZ that he found it ‘crazy’ Avila was asking for $90 million in her suit; and said of the mistrial, ‘It happens.’
Judge Huey P. Cotton explained the course of events that led to the interruption in the ongoing legal proceedings.
‘Unfortunately, one of the jurors has violated my admonitions against searching the internet for information,’ Judge Cotton said, according to Rolling Stone, ‘and not only that, but he also shared it, and as a consequence, I have to declare a mistrial.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Brown for further comment.
A Los Angeles civil trial involving singer Chris Brown – on allegations his dog mauled his former housekeeper in 2020 – was declared a mistrial on after it was determined that a juror broke rules set forth by the court. Pictured 2023 in London
The Tappahannock, Virginia native was slated to be the first witness to take the stand in the ongoing case.
The judge then requested attorneys on both sides stay as jury selection for a new trial would commence.
Brown then requested a continuance, saying he was going to visit Las Vegas, where his newborn son with Jada Wallace is.
Judge Cotton told the Forever singer to come back to court on Thursday, according to the outlet.
Throughout the process of jury selection Monday, attorneys said that Brown had conceded that Avila had been attacked by his security canine on December 12, 2020.
Brown’s attorney said that a ‘difference of opinion’ at the crux of the trial is how much Brown should pay Avila; her sister, who witnessed the attack; and her spouse, on grounds of loss of consortium.
Avila said in legal docs reviewed by the outlet that she ‘screamed in terror and called out for help’ when Brown’s dog mauled her, damaging flesh and bone and leaving her with multiple permanent injuries.
‘It attacked me on my face, my hand, and it pierced its teeth on my foot,’ Avila told the court in a deposition more than two years ago. ‘I didn’t see it, I simply felt it – it was something really big.’
The Grammy-winner, 37, was present in Los Angeles on Tuesday and told to return Thursday, as testimony will commence for a new trial. Pictured in London last year
Brown ‘fled the scene’ in the wake of the attack, as Avila testified she ‘heard the car that left,’ calling false his claims she had been instructed not to go outside at that time.
The singer told the court in a pretrial deposition that he was alerted to the attack when he heard his attack dog growling from upstairs.
‘Hearing the actual growl is what actually shocked me, to make me go downstairs,’ Brown told the court.
He said that when approaching his injured housekeeper, he tried to establish she was alive.
‘I didn’t touch her,’ Brown said. ‘I bent down, and I looked. I was making sure she was breathing, and then from there, I ran and put the dogs away and yelled and told the security guard to come over.’
He said that he ‘could see her chest moving,’ and after being informed medical help was en route, he left the scene.
The singer told the court that he did not decide how the situation with Hades – a Central Asian Ovcharka – was handled in the aftermath of the attack.
The dog had been taken to Humboldt County by a security guard and let go before officials found the canine and put him to sleep, the outlet reported.
The With You singer didn’t appear to be too preoccupied with the legal situation in an Instagram Stories clip he posted Tuesday afternoon hyping his upcoming The R&B Tour with Usher
Monday’s jury selection saw multiple potential jurors dismissed after admitting they held against Brown his infamous assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna after a pre-Grammys party on February 8, 2009, for which he was convicted on felony assault charges later that year.
The With You singer didn’t appear to be too preoccupied with the legal situation in an Instagram Stories clip he posted Tuesday afternoon hyping his upcoming The R&B Tour with Usher.
‘Hey guys and gals, just letting y’all know, I’m over here trying to get sexy as possible for this damn tour,’ Brown said. ‘I’m trying to get it right, so shirts will be coming off this tour.
‘No dad bod situation going on, no honey buns, no extra food, none of that s***. So when I do my one, two [dance step] … go on and scream a little louder!’
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