SANTA ANA, Calif. — After a weeklong selection process, a jury of 12 has been seated in the long-awaited Skaggs vs. Angels civil trial. Six alternate jurors are still needed before the trial can begin, but that step should be completed soon and opening statements are expected to take place in Orange County Superior Court on Monday.
The Angels are defendants in the wrongful death civil case brought in 2021 by the family of former pitcher Tyler Skaggs. They argue the Angels knew or should have known that former communications director Eric Kay was providing illegal opioids to Skaggs, who died after a fentanyl overdose on July 1, 2019.
Kay is serving a 22-year sentence in federal prison. The Angels have long contended they had no knowledge of Kay’s dynamic with Skaggs, and are not responsible for his death.
The jury process began on Oct. 6, and was expected to last three days, but it will end up taking more than a week to complete.
Once done, the judge said both sides will get an hour to deliver opening remarks. Attorney Shawn Holley will present arguments for the Skaggs’ family, while Todd Theodora will argue for the Angels.
Angels VP of communications Tim Mead will take the stand first after those initial arguments, on either Monday or Tuesday. He’s one of the most important witnesses in the case, and was initially named as a defendant in this suit, though he no longer is.
Skaggs family lawyers have indicated that they will argue that Mead and traveling secretary Tom Taylor — testifying second — were aware of Kay’s drug abuse, and had been told Kay was providing pills to Skaggs. Both Mead and Kay have denied any knowledge of Kay and Skaggs’ dynamic.
Angels team president John Carpino is set to take the stand fourth. Superstar outfielder Mike Trout will testify on Oct. 21, the only date he was available.
Seating the jury was a complicated process. Nearly half of the 240 potential jurors empaneled were excused due to claiming a financial, medical, childcare or related hardship. One juror even got up and left, citing a medical emergency, and a paramedic was called to assist.
During questioning from the judge and attorneys, many others stated they didn’t think they could be fair; often citing a close connection to addiction or illegal drug use.
On Friday, 11 of the first 12 jurors questioned were immediately excused after claiming a bias. One potential juror said he had such a disgust for the topic, that he refused to answer any questions related to drugs. He was later excused.
The trial could extend until Dec. 12, making it more challenging to find jurors who were able and willing to serve.
Attorneys for both sides questioned potential jurors. Rusty Hardin, the Skaggs family’s lead lawyer, asked about jurors’ perspective on drugs. Specifically, he questioned their beliefs on a drug user’s personal responsibility, likely trying to weed out jurors who would automatically hold Skaggs fully responsible for his own death.
One juror specifically stated such a belief, causing Hardin to ask everyone, “Who agrees with him?”
Hardin also asked potential jurors if their love of the Angels baseball team would make it hard for them to find a multi-million dollar judgment against them. The statement of damages, provided by the plaintiffs to the defense, requests a nearly $1.2 billion judgment.
Theodora, the Angels’ attorney, asked every juror what they thought of the Angels — positive or negative. The purpose was likely to root out jurors who had a pre-determined bias against the team.
While many answers centered around Trout, family time, Angel Stadium and other more generally positive responses, a couple lamented the team’s poor play.
One said he wished they’d done more to re-sign Shohei Ohtani in free agency. Another said, “The team is struggling, and my son is disappointed in the roster.” The comment drew a few laughs.
Theodora also asked jurors about any preconceived biases against large corporations. He questioned jurors on whether they’d be able to separate their empathy for the Skaggs family’s loss from the facts of the case.
Angels, Skaggs side each win notable rulings
The judge ruled against an Angels motion for terminating sanctions last week, following a contentious hearing in which Skaggs lawyers were accused of discovery misconduct.
Angels attorney Kevin Dorse presented an argument that the Skaggs family was hiding a key witness in the case — Skaggs’ half-brother Garet Ramos — whom the Angels were having a hard time locating and deposing. The Angels wanted to question Ramos about allegedly deleting a text message from Skaggs’ phone after his death.
Hardin was perturbed by the allegation, staring down Dorse as he presented his own argument to the judge. He strenuously denied the allegation.
Ultimately, the judge did not find the Angels’ argument compelling, and denied it on all fronts.
The Angels did, however, win a notable ruling that will allow them to more effectively argue Skaggs’ comparative fault. The team wanted to present evidence that there were multiple substantial “but for” causes of Skaggs’ death — particularly alcohol and oxycodone. The family had hoped to prevent such an argument from being made.
The jury in Kay’s 2022 criminal trial ruled that fentanyl was a substantial “but-for” cause of death. But the jury instructions in that trial also stated that there could be multiple substantial “but-for” causes of death.
The judge sided with the Angels, citing that specific jury instruction. Though the facts of the criminal trial cannot be re-litigated, the baseball team’s attorneys will be able to argue additional factors that led to Skaggs’ death.
The Angels’ strategy in this case is to pin as much responsibility for Skaggs’ death on Skaggs himself, while limiting the team’s culpability.
Witness list revealed
While many of the witnesses had already become clear through court proceedings and deposition testimony, the full list was revealed by the judge during jury selection.
Among the new notable names was longtime Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who left the club after 19 years in 2018, the season before Skaggs’ death. He’s a witness for the defense, and is expected to testify about the team’s culture. The Skaggs side was unable to depose Scioscia.
Another is longtime MLB executive Dan Duquette, who was formerly the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles’ general manager. While he has no direct connection to the case, he’s expected to be an expert witness for the defense, and is expected to testify about Skaggs’ potential future earnings as a baseball player.
Previously reported witnesses include current big league players Andrew Heaney, Patrick Corbin, Wade Miley and Trout. A host of former big leaguers are also expected to take the stand, including Albert Pujols, Trevor Plouffe and Ty Buttrey.
Additionally, the former players who testified at Kay’s criminal trial to receiving pills — Mike Morin, Cam Bedrosian, C.J. Cron, Blake Parker and Matt Harvey — are on the witness list.
Not everyone on the witness list will definitely be called to testify, and the purposes of players’ potential testimony vary.
Prominent CAA agent Ryan Hamill, who represented Skaggs, could testify, as well as renowned baseball surgeon Neal ElAttrache.
A notable absence from the witness list? Kay himself. Before court proceedings began on Sept. 22, the Skaggs side had subpoenaed Kay for a deposition. They withdrew it after winning a key motion that caused a change in strategy.
The Angels still intended to depose Kay, but were later told he’d be unavailable. The Angels have been paying for Kay’s legal defense.