Nick Gordon was found legally responsible in the 2015 death of girlfriend Bobbi Kristina Brown, a judge ruled Friday after he failed to show up again for a civil hearing in superior court.
Gordon has been a no-show twice, and therefore anything alleged by Brown's conservator in their wrongful death civil lawsuit against him is admitted through omission, said Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford, according to NBC affiliate WXIA.
Brown, the only child of late pop superstar Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown, died after being found unresponsive in a bathtub of the suburban Atlanta townhouse she shared with Gordon. A medical examiner in March determined the 22-year-old died as a result of being immersed in water and a drug intoxication.
The suit, first filed in June 2015, made several allegations, including that Gordon abused Brown, wanted to steal her inheritance, drugged her with a "toxic cocktail" and then drowned her in a tub of cold water.
Gordon has not been criminally charged in Brown's death.
Gordon's lawyers have previously denied the allegations in the suit as "meritless," and said the Fulton County District Attorney's office "tried to make Nick a murderer." They did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
A jury will determine the amount of damages to be awarded to Brown’s conservator; the lawsuit is seeking $50 million.
Bobby Brown said in a statement that the judge's decision pleased him, but he still wants answers to what happened to his daughter.
"Today’s judgment tells me it was Nick Gordon," he said. "Now I need to process all the emotions I have and learn on God to get me and my family through this."
