Tyler Skaggs Litigation Team Reunites to Share Strategy with TACTAS Members

Members of the Tyler Skaggs wrongful death litigation team—including Durham, Pittard & Spalding partners Lara Hollingsworth and Dana Levy—reunited for a special presentation to the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists (TACTAS).

The presentation focused on how creative pretrial litigation and appellate strategy can materially influence trial outcomes. Lara and Dana joined fellow team members Daniel Dutko of Kherkher Garcia LLP and Leah Graham of Sorrels Law to walk through the strategic decisions that shaped one of the most closely watched wrongful death cases in recent years.

Drawing on their experience in the high-profile litigation arising from the overdose death of former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, the team shared how a novel legal approach helped create meaningful leverage during trial. Because punitive damages are generally unavailable in California wrongful death actions, the team, along with Texas trial counsel Rusty Hardin & Associates LP and California trial counsel Behar Gibbs Savage Paulson LLP and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP, advanced a creative theory linking punitive damages to pre-death property damage—specifically, contamination of Skaggs’ iPad by a counterfeit oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl.

That strategy proved pivotal. During jury deliberations, jurors sent a note asking where punitive damages could be included on the verdict form—prompting the Angels organization to initiate settlement discussions shortly thereafter.