The Los Angeles Angels and Tyler Skaggs’ family reached a confidential settlement Friday, ending a two-month civil trial that examined whether the team was responsible for Skaggs’ 2019 overdose. Jurors had already found the Angels negligent and were preparing to apportion fault when the settlement was announced. Testimony during the trial described alleged widespread drug use, party behavior on team flights and allegations that communications director Eric Kay supplied pills; Kay was later convicted for providing a fentanyl-laced pill. The confidential deal spares jurors from assigning a monetary value to Skaggs’ life and brings the high-profile case to a close.
Los Angeles Angels Reach Confidential Settlement With Tyler Skaggs' Family After Two-Month Trial
Attorney Russell Hardin Jr. hugs Tyler Skaggs' widow, Carli Skaggs, center, as Skaggs mother's Debbie smiles, at left, after a settlement was reached in the wrongful death lawsuit by the family of the Los Angeles Angels pitcher Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Orange County Superior Court, in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
SANTA ANA, Calif. — The Los Angeles Angels and the family of the late pitcher Tyler Skaggs reached a confidential settlement Friday, ending a two-month civil trial that examined whether the team bore responsibility for Skaggs’ 2019 fatal overdose.
Settlement Ends Deliberations
The settlement came late in the proceedings as jurors were nearing the end of their deliberations. Jurors had already concluded the Angels were negligent and had begun deciding how to apportion fault among the parties when attorneys announced the resolution.
Trial Details and Testimony
Throughout the trial, more than 40 witnesses described drug use and party scenes within the organization, including testimony that players drank and socialized on team flights and that communications director Eric Kay supplied pills to players. High-profile witnesses included outfielder Mike Trout and Angels president John Carpino, along with family members and former teammates of Skaggs.
"The repeated negligence of the Angels was really it," juror Jasson Thach said, noting that jurors had been estimating damages in a range between roughly $60 million and $100 million.
Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and his parents argued that the club knew or should have known Kay was using and distributing painkillers. The Angels maintained that team officials would have tried to get Skaggs help had they known he was using drugs.
Background: Death, Conviction and Evidence
Skaggs, a 27-year-old left-handed starter who had been in the Angels’ rotation since late 2016, was found dead in a suburban Dallas hotel room in 2019. A coroner’s report concluded he choked on his vomit and that toxicology detected a mix of alcohol, fentanyl and oxycodone.
Eric Kay, a longtime team employee, was convicted in 2022 of providing Skaggs with a fentanyl-laced pill and was sentenced to 22 years in prison. During both the criminal and civil proceedings, witnesses testified that Kay had provided oxycodone to multiple players between 2017 and 2019, maintained access to players’ schedules and appointments, and had been found with bags of pills at his home.
Aftermath
Orange County Superior Court Judge H. Shaina Colover thanked jurors for their service after they were released. Several jurors said they were relieved that the settlement meant they would not have to place a dollar value on a person’s life. Plaintiffs’ counsel Rusty Hardin said the family was beginning a new chapter after six years of grieving.
The settlement is confidential; terms were not disclosed. The case shone a national spotlight on opioid dangers and on accountability within professional sports organizations.
