Settlement Reached in Tyler Skaggs Case
The Los Angeles Angels have settled a lawsuit with the family of the late pitcher Tyler Skaggs. The agreement, finalized on Friday, concludes a two-month trial that explored the circumstances around Skaggs’ fatal overdose in 2019. The trial highlighted the role of the team’s former communications director, Eric Kay, in providing Skaggs with a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl.
Jurors had been deliberating on the extent of the Angels’ responsibility in the case. Juror Jasson Thach noted the panel had already determined the team was negligent and was in the process of assessing the damages, which were estimated between $60 million and $100 million. “The repeated negligence of the Angels was really it,” Thach commented.
Throughout the trial, various figures, including outfielder Mike Trout and Angels president John Carpino, took the stand. Witnesses provided accounts of players engaging in drinking and partying on team flights, and of Kay being paid for clubhouse antics.
The lawsuit filed by Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents, alleged that the Angels were aware or should have been aware of Kay’s drug dealings. “Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of their lives after six years of living with this,” said Rusty Hardin, the plaintiffs’ attorney.
The Angels maintained that had they been aware of Skaggs’ drug use, they would have intervened to help him. In a statement, the team expressed, “The death of Tyler Skaggs remains a tragedy, and this trial sheds light on the dangers of opioid use and the devastating effects it can have.”
Skaggs was found deceased in his hotel room in suburban Dallas in 2019, where the Angels were scheduled to play the Texas Rangers. A coroner’s report revealed that Skaggs had died from choking on his vomit, with a toxic mix of alcohol, fentanyl, and oxycodone in his system.
Eric Kay, who had been a longstanding employee of the Angels, was convicted in 2022 of supplying Skaggs with the illicit pill and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Testimonies in his criminal trial included statements from five MLB players who admitted to receiving oxycodone from Kay between 2017 and 2019.
During the civil proceedings, over 40 witnesses testified on various aspects, including Skaggs’ potential earnings had he survived. Witnesses also detailed Kay’s involvement with players, which included organizing massages, tee times, and providing prescription drugs. Kay was found with numerous plastic bags of pills at his home and had previously been hospitalized for a drug overdose.
The jurors, who began deliberations earlier in the week, posed a question late Wednesday about the potential for assigning punitive damages. The court did not convene on Thursday, and discussions resumed Friday morning. Upon the jury’s release, Judge H. Shaina Colover thanked them for their efforts, saying their work led to the resolution of the case.
Juror Deborah Song expressed relief at the settlement, stating, “I am so happy because that way I don’t have to put a number on somebody’s life.”
