About two months after Nick Gordon was found legally responsible for the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the ex-boyfriend of Whitney Houston’s late daughter has been ordered to pay Brown’s estate a whopping sum.
He is on the hook for $36 million.
The unconscious body of Bobbi Kristina was found in a bathtub in January of 2015.
Following a six-month medically induced coma, Brown died at the age of 22, with many questions being raised over the subsequent weeks and months regarding the circumstances surrounding her passing.
What sort of role did Gordon play?
Did he supply the troubled young woman with drugs?
A month after Bobbi left us, her state filed a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Gordon.
While we may never have specific answers, a Georgia judge ruled in September that Gordon was liable in Brown’s death.
The next step, the judge said at the time, would be to establish damages, and “a jury will determine the amount of damages to be awarded to Brown’s conservator."
And that is what transpired on Thursday.
Based on video obtained by TMZ, Brown’s father, long-time singer Bobby Brown, told the court that his child had planned to go into the entertainment industry.
Due to her talent and her famous family, Brown believed his daughter would have had extremely high show-business prospects.
That is, she would have earned a lot of money and Gordon’s role in her death cost the estate all this money.
“She was an entertainer. If you were around her, all you would do was laugh. She told a lot of jokes. She was always the life of the party…and anywhere she went,” Brown said Thursday on the stand.
“I know she had the talent to be successful.”
Brown has maintained for a long time that Gordon was responsible for his daughter’s death…
… and Judge T. Jackson Bedford, Jr. agreed, awarding Bobbi Kristina’s estate the aforementioned $36 million.
The financial breakdown of this payout is comprised partially of the following:
– $1,575,041 for conversion (theft of Brown’s funds), with the maximum charge of $250,000 for punitive damages.
– $1,370,877.52 for assault and battery medical damages.
– $13 million for pain and suffering, with an additional $4,200,000 because Gordon was found to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
– $15,056,000 million for loss of life, factoring in future earning potential.
A family source says Gordon is in a very bad place right now and will probably file for bankruptcy in response to this ruling.
It seems impossible to believe he’ll actually be able to afford to pay off any of this debt.
Bobby Brown, meanwhile, celebrated the outcome on Instagram, sharing the following photo of the legal decree.
He wrote as a caption:
"Thank you all for your support. NOW is the time for District Attorney Howard to act!! #JusticeforBobbiKristina."