A judge declared a mistrial in Chris Brown’s $90 million dog-attack lawsuit after a juror allegedly violated instructions about searching the internet and shared information during proceedings. The case, brought by Patricia Avila over injuries she says resulte
The courtroom was only in its second day when the judge stopped everything and declared a mistrial—an abrupt end to a case that seeks $90 million and turns on what jurors decide about what happened at Chris Brown’s home in 2020.
On Tuesday, June 16, Judge Huey P. Cotton excused the courtroom, citing juror misconduct, according to Rolling Stone. The judge said. “Unfortunately. one of the jurors has violated my admonitions against searching the internet for information. and not only that. but he also shared it. and as a consequence. I have to declare a mistrial. ” Cotton reportedly said.
The attorneys were ordered to stay while a new jury was selected from a pool already present in the building, per the outlet. Chris Brown, 37, was set to take the stand before the proceedings were halted.
The lawsuit, filed by Patricia Avila, is aimed at $90 million. She sued Brown in 2021, saying her sister, Maria Avila, was mauled by one of Brown’s dogs in 2020 while Maria was cleaning outside at Brown’s Los Angeles home on Dec. 20, 2020.
The initial complaint alleged the dog ripped “3 to 4 inches of skin off her arm” and also bit her legs and face. Patricia Avila, along with Maria Avila and her husband, are asking for a total of $90 million in damages. Brown has denied any wrongdoing.
The mistrial comes as Brown’s public life continues to draw attention. Shortly after the Grammy-winner and Jada Wallace confirmed the birth of their first child together, Wallace announced the news in an April 26 Instagram post with a photo of the baby and a caption that read, “Purest love .”
Brown is also preparing for major tour dates. The singer and Usher have announced a joint “R&B Tour. ” with performances scheduled in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 7 and 8 later this year. Brown is also gearing up to co-headline the “Raymond and Brown Tour” with Usher this summer. which will kick off June 26 in Denver and run through Dec. 12.
At the center of the current legal dispute, though, is a jury that must now start over. With the case paused just as Brown was expected to testify, the next selection will decide whether the allegations—and the defense’s denial—are weighed again from the beginning.
Chris Brown mistrial dog attack lawsuit Huey P. Cotton Patricia Avila Maria Avila $90 million juror misconduct
So the jury was googling? That’s wild… but also why is Chris even getting sued for this much.
I don’t even know how this works, like once it’s a mistrial everyone just starts over? He was gonna take the stand too and they just stopped it 😬
A juror “shared information” and now it’s mistrial, but what was the internet info?? Probably just stuff about Chris being famous and everyone acting like that’s evidence. Feels like the system always protects celebrities.
90 million??? That number is insane. Also the article said the dog ripped skin off her arm like… if that happened then how did it turn into a tech/internet thing with the juror? I’m confused, seems like somebody should’ve gotten in trouble immediately. And Chris having a tour while this is going on just feels wrong.