A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Tyler Skaggs against the Angels has been scheduled for a 20-day jury trial starting Oct. 2, 2023, in Orange County.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Glenn Salter set the trial date on Monday when he ruled against the Angels’ motion to have the suit dismissed. Salter found there was sufficient evidence provided by Skaggs’ family to warrant a trial in which a jury would determine if the Angels knew, or should have known, enough about the circumstances of Skaggs’ death to prevent it.
Former Angels public relations manager Eric Kay in February was convicted in federal court of supplying Skaggs with the opioids that led to his death on July 1, 2019, in a hotel room in Southlake, Texas, during an Angels road trip.
On Oct. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas, Kay was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison. During Kay’s trial last winter, several former Angels players testified to receiving illegal opioids from Kay.
The family contends that Tim Mead, the Angels’ longtime vice president in charge of communications, was aware that Kay and Skaggs were using drugs together. The Angels and Mead have repeatedly denied that accusation.
It is possible the Angels could be held liable even without management’s knowledge of the situation, because a jury could determine that they should have known, experts said.
There had been two civil suits filed, one in Texas and one in California. California law does not allow parents to be plaintiffs in a wrongful death suit if there is a spouse, so the parents were plaintiffs in Texas and Skaggs’ widow, Carli, was the plaintiff in California. However, in May the Angels agreed to allow Skaggs’ parents to join his widow in the California case.
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Now that the case has been cleared to continue in California, the Texas case is expected to be withdrawn.
Angels owner Arte Moreno is currently trying to sell the team, so presumably, the new owner or ownership group would reach an agreement over liability in this case before completing the transaction. The case still could be settled or dismissed before it goes to trial.