Nick Gordon,
Gordon was not present in an Atlanta courtroom Thursday as the judge set his penalty, the Associated Press reported. He hasn't had legal representation since November 2015 and had been skipping court appearances, including the one in September where the estate won the case by default as the allegations were admitted by omission.
“I am pleased with the outcome of today’s court proceedings,”
The entertainer, who was added as a plaintiff in the case in May, was among those who testified before the judge set damages in the case first filed by his daughter's estate during the six months in 2015 she was in a coma before her death that July.
Bobby Brown told the court that Bobbi Kristina had unlimited earning potential at the time of her death, according to TMZ. The $36.25 million award included $15 million for loss of life and potential future income and $13 million for pain and suffering, the website said.
"We intend to pursue, with all vigor, the full collection of the judgment," said R. David Ware, one of the attorneys representing the estate.
Gordon "gave Bobbi Kristina a toxic cocktail rendering her unconscious and then put her face down in a tub of cold water causing her to suffer brain damage," said the lawsuit, which originally sought $10 million in damages and alleged among other things that Gordon had assaulted her and maneuvered himself into a boyfriend role so he could take her money.
After Bobbi Kristina's death, the allegation of wrongful death was added and the request for damages was upped to $50 million.
No criminal charges have been filed against Gordon, who was raised by Whitney Houston as an unofficially adopted brother to Bobbi Kristina; they became romantically involved in the wake of Houston's 2012 death.
Gordon did a stint in rehab in March 2015 after behaving erratically on an episode of the “
"Think about how far-fetched and ludicrous that sounds," Gordon told McGraw. "That's just stupid."
An autopsy of Bobbi Kristina Brown found drugs in her system but labeled her cause of death "undetermined."
Dontaye Carter, a spokesman for Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, told the AP in an email Thursday that Bobbi Kristina's death was still under investigation.
"I do need for the District Attorney's Office to step up and begin the criminal prosecution of Mr. Gordon," Bobby Brown said in his statement. "The delay in that matter is of great concern to me and my family."
Follow Christie D'Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ.
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