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<\/p>\nSANTA ANA, Calif. \u2014 The Angels have settled the wrongful death lawsuit brought against them by the family of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, ending nearly five years of tense litigation between the team and the family of its former player.<\/p>\n
The jury began deliberations on Monday, after more than two months of testimony, and on Friday, the two sides reached an agreement before the jury could reach a verdict. The terms of the settlement are not public.<\/p>\n
There were hugs and visible signs of emotion among the Skaggs family lawyers and their clients as the contract was brought into the courtroom to be signed, and the judge announced to those in attendance that a settlement had been reached.<\/p>\n
Skaggs died on July 1, 2019, after ingesting a fentanyl-laced pill provided by Eric Kay, the team\u2019s ex-communications director. Kay is serving 22 years in federal prison for providing the pill, after being convicted in a 2022 criminal trial that took place in Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re delighted to have this behind them,\u201d said Skaggs family attorney Rusty of his clients, Tyler\u2019s mother Debbie Hetman and his widow Carli Skaggs. \u201cThis was a great day for them, because it\u2019s finally over. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of their lives, after six years of living through this.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked whether the settlement allowed the Angels to avoid acknowledging responsibility, Hardin said, \u201cI think any plaintiff that wanted their day in court has a bittersweet moment on that issue. The other side can still deny. But the other side would have still denied even if we had a verdict. They\u2019re not going to walk in and say mea culpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Angels declined interviews through a team spokesperson, but issued a statement following the proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d the team said. \u201cThroughout the course of court proceedings, both parties searched for a path to a mutually agreed upon resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
MLB declined comment, referring to a November comment by commissioner Rob Manfred, who said the league plans to read the transcripts from the trial. A spokesperson for the MLB Players Association also declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Speaking after court, jurors indicated that they had already determined the issue of liability before the case settled. Multiple jurors also said the group had decided to issue the Angels punitive damages.<\/p>\n
Juror Tanya Josephs said the group was considering awarding a judgement in the range of $80 million, but that was before the group had fully determined apportionment of blame from among Skaggs, Kay and the Angels.<\/p>\n
One juror, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss the deliberations, said that the jury would have awarded\u00a0$62.5 million for lost earnings, which went down to $50 million when factoring in agents fees and consumption. Non-economic losses would have been $19.5 million total (split $10 million for Carli Skaggs, $7.5 million for Debbie Hetman, and $2 million for Darrell Skaggs). Punitive damages would have been $10 million. With the exception of the punitive damages, those numbers would have been reduced by some percentage, based on how at-fault the jury believed Tyler Skaggs to be.<\/p>\n
Punitive damages would have required a separate hearing to determine, based on the value of the team, meaning the final number could have been different.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can tell they cared about each other \u2014 the Angels\u2019 organization,\u201d Josephs said. \u201cBut at some point, you have to know what right and wrong is, even if that\u2019s your best friend \u2014 and he\u2019s doing things that aren\u2019t really scrupulous. At some point, you have to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Wednesday afternoon, the jury had asked the court a question related to awarding punitive damages, after previously asking a question about future earnings. A day later, on Thursday, the Angels approached the Skaggs team about ramping up settlement negotiations, when the jury was off from deliberations.<\/p>\n
The questions indicated that the jury had already determined liability against the Angels, and were at least considering punitive damages, which would not have been covered by insurance. Insurance companies covering the Angels began authorizing settlement payments on Thursday, said sources familiar, though it\u2019s unclear how much of the deal is covered.<\/p>\n
Settlement talks extended throughout the day Thursday, but weren\u2019t finalized until after the jury began deliberating for about 15 minutes on Friday morning. Multiple jurors indicated they likely would have had a verdict within a few hours.<\/p>\n
The foreperson \u2014 who asked to be identified only by his first name, Richard, in order to preserve his privacy \u2014 said that the jury\u2019s views evolved over time. \u201cI think as we started going more through the evidence of the case, and bouncing our thoughts and opinions of how people viewed it, we were able to get more of the 50-50 people over to the (Skaggs family) side,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n
The trial spanned nearly nine weeks. Court proceedings began on Sept. 22, with jury selection starting on Oct. 6. The trial officially began on Oct. 14, and the jury listened to testimony and arguments for 32 days.<\/p>\n
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\n Tyler Skaggs died after ingesting a fentanyl-laced pill in 2019. (AP Photo \/ Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n