Nick Gordon Is ‘Legally Responsible’ In Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Death, Georgia Court Rules

Nick Gordon is “legally responsible” in the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, a Georgia judge ruled Friday, paving the way for a multi-million-dollar settlement in a pending lawsuit against the former family friend, WXIA (Atlanta) is reporting.

The declaration is a civil one, not a criminal one. In other words, it doesn’t mean that Gordon is guilty of any crimes in connection with Bobbi’s death. It does, however, have far-reaching implications in a lawsuit brought against Gordon by Brown’s estate.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford issued the declaration after Gordon twice failed to show up for scheduled court appearances. Since Gordon can’t be bothered to show up in court to dispute any allegations against him, anything the plaintiffs say is in the lawsuit is admitted as evidence by default.

What happens next will be determined by a jury, according to USA Today. That jury will be tasked with deciding how much money Gordon owes Bobbi’s estate. The estate is asking for $50 million, according to attorney R. David Ware.

“In court today, we finally finished a long journey for justice for Bobbi Kristina Brown. The court agrees with us, by striking Mr. Gordon’s answer that he is legally responsible for her death. The only thing left to prove is the value of her life. We intend to do that. Mr. Gordon will not put on any evidence in contradiction of that.”

In October of 2012, Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, announced her engagement to Nick Gordon, as Us Weekly reported at the time. The relationship raised eyebrows, as Gordon had been a close family friend, and at one time, Bobbi had even referred to Gordon as her big brother. Bobbi’s grandmother, Cissy Houston, had even referred to the relationship as incestuous, a claim from which she later backed down before giving the couple their blessing.

Bobbi rejected any accusations that there was anything untoward about her relationship with Gordon, who was informally adopted by Whitney and Bobby when he was 12-years-old.

“Everyone gets it wrong, I was never officially… it’s not incest.”

On January 31, 2015, Bobbi, Gordon, and a friend had been partying at Brown’s home. A detailed series of allegations, leading up to the moment Bobbi Kristina died, is put forth in the lawsuit filed by Brown’s court-appointed conservator, Bedelia Hargrove, according to MSN.

• Early in the morning on the day that Bobbi Kristina was discovered in the bathtub, Nick returned from an “all-night drinking and cocaine binge.”
• The two argued for a time, then everything “abruptly became quiet.”
• Shortly thereafter, Gordon called Bobbi into the master bedroom. There, he gave her a “toxic cocktail rendering her unconscious and then put her face down in a tub of cold water causing her to suffer brain damage.”
• Gordon changed clothes, went back out into the living room, laid his head on the ankle of a female guest, and said, “Now I want a pretty little white girl like you.”
• About 15 minutes later, another guest found Bobbi Kristina face-down in the bathtub. Nick panicked and yelled, “Clean up! Clean up!”

Further, Brown’s family has accused Gordon of illegally transferring Bobbi Kristina’s money into his own accounts.

In a statement, Leolah Brown, Bobbi Kristina’s aunt, praised the judge’s decision to hold Gordon “legally responsible” for Brown’s death.

“It’s been a long time. They should have been gotten him. He should have been arrested. I’m angry. I’m angry because I want to see some justice. Something has to happen and it has to happen soon.”

As of this writing, Nick Gordon has not been charged with any crimes in connection with Bobbi Kristina Brown’s death.

[Featured Image by Donald Traill/Invision/AP Images]