Closing Arguments Send Tyler Skaggs Wrongful-Death Case Against Angels to Jury

Overview

• Plaintiffs cast the club as negligent for failing to supervise communications director Eric Kay and say his favors for players placed his conduct within his job, while the defense portrays Skaggs as a secretive user who exploited Kay and kept the team in the dark.
• The family seeks hundreds of millions in economic and emotional-distress damages plus punitive damages under an asserted property‑damage exception tied to alleged fentanyl contamination of Skaggs’ iPad.
• The cause of death is not disputed, with the autopsy citing accidental asphyxia involving fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol, and Kay already serving a 22‑year federal sentence for supplying a counterfeit pill.
• Testimony over two months included Angels star Mike Trout and team president John Carpino, who told jurors he wished he had known earlier about drug use by Skaggs and Kay.
• Multiple insurers in a layered policy structure are evaluating a potential high‑low or other settlement, with one lower‑tier carrier described as impeding progress after a prior offer the family rejected.