SANTA ANA, Calif. — Two days of deliberations have rendered no verdict from jurors in the wrongful death civil trial brought by the family of Tyler Skaggs against the Los Angeles Angels — and the longer the schedule stretches on, the more implications it might have for the case.
With an hour to go in the day, jurors submitted a question to the court about what would happen if they are unable to reach a verdict by the end of Friday. There are no deliberations scheduled for Thursday.
The judge asked the jurors if they’d be available for further deliberations on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, to which jurors responded by saying they’d further discuss their availability for those days. The judge suggested resuming deliberations on Jan. 12, if needed.
If no verdict is rendered by the end of day on Dec. 23, Angels attorney Todd Theodora suggested his client might request a mistrial, which would end the trial but leave open the possibility for the case to be re-tried. The judge didn’t address that comment.
Skaggs’ family has sued the Angels, alleging the team knew, or should have known, that ex-communications director Eric Kay was providing illegal pills to Skaggs. Kay is serving 22 years in federal prison for providing the fentanyl-laced pill that Skaggs ingested, leading to his death on July 1, 2019.
At the very end of the day Wednesday, the jury asked a written question of the Court. “Do we as the jury get to decide the punitive damages amount? There is no field for it?”
The question was notable, given that punitive damages have been requested by the Skaggs attorneys as a way to punish the Angels for their conduct. The jury could award economic and non-economic damages, without awarding punitive damages.
On Tuesday, jurors asked the court to provide transcripts of testimony from expert witnesses on Skaggs’ potential future earnings. Their testimony relates specifically to damages. The verdict form first requires jurors to answer questions on liability before addressing damages.
The form has 26 questions for jurors to answer, ranging from the team’s liability to Kay’s involvement, to various forms of damages, including punitive damages and apportionment of blame between the parties.
Court proceedings began on Sept 22, and the jury has been hearing the case since Oct. 14.
Attorneys for both parties have largely been standing in and around the courtroom, awaiting a verdict. There was a brief flurry of excitement on Tuesday, just two hours into deliberations, when the courthouse’s verdict alert email service accidentally sent out a notification that there was a verdict.
It was quickly determined to be a false alarm, and everyone soon returned to waiting.
