Bobbi Kristina Brown’s boyfriend has been ordered to pay her estate officials more than $36 million (£29 million) after he was found civilly liable for her death.
Nick Gordon was sued by Brown’s court-appointed co-conservator, Bedelia Hargrove, following the 22-year-old’s death in July, 2015, and her father, singer Bobby Brown, joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff in May.
In the legal papers, Gordon was accused of giving Bobby’s only child with the late Whitney Houston a “toxic cocktail” of substances which rendered her unconscious on the night of January 31, 2015, when the aspiring singer and actress was found unresponsive and face down in a bathtub at the Georgia home she shared with Gordon.
She was subsequently placed in a medically-induced coma and spent almost six months fighting for her life.
Gordon failed to show up to court to fight the civil lawsuit, prompting Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford to find him “legally responsible” in September, when the plaintiffs’ allegations were “admitted through omission”.
Executors had reportedly asked for $50 million (£40.2 million) from Gordon, and after hearing testimonies from Bobbi Kristina’s friends and relatives, including her tearful dad, the judge determined her estate should be awarded $36 million (£29 million).
During Thursday’s court date, he explained, “To determine the value of a life is pretty difficult. So the court has been back there primarily struggling with that particular issue.”
In the end, Judge Bedford awarded $13 million (£10.5 million) for pain and suffering, and $15 million (£12 million) for loss of life, including her net worth and future earning potential, reports TMZ.com. He also ordered Gordon to pay up for assault and battery, and for conversion, after allegedly transferring money from Bobbi Kristina’s account into his own without permission.
Gordon, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, was absent from the damages hearing. It remains to be seen how much the estate representatives will actually collect from him.
No criminal charges have been brought against Gordon for Brown’s death, but the police investigation is still reportedly ongoing.
Coroners ruled Bobbi Kristina died of a combination of drugs and drowning.
