The Tyler Skaggs wrongful death civil lawsuit thundered toward a conclusion Monday, Dec. 15, with lawyers for the deceased pitcher and the Los Angeles Angels‘ legal team presenting their closing arguments.

Sometime Tuesday, Dec. 16, arguments and rebuttals will conclude and the jury will begin deliberations, tasked with determining whether the Angels knew or should have known their former communications director was providing opioids to Skaggs and other players, including the fentanyl-laced oxycodone pill that resulted in the pitcher’s death on July 1, 2019.

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Eric Kay is serving a 22-year term in federal prison, and the Skaggs family is seeking $118 million in lost earnings and other damages in this civil trial.

Closing arguments lasted nearly four hours Dec. 15, The Athletic reported, with Skaggs family attorney Daniel Dutko accusing the Angels of “gaslighting” the jury.

“It’s trying to convince you of something that isn’t true,” he said.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Sunlight illuminates the pitchers mound with the jersey number of late Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs before a game against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 18, 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Sunlight illuminates the pitchers mound with the jersey number of late Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs before a game against the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on July 18, 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) points to the sky prior to pitching in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies during an MLB Players’ Weekend game at Busch Stadium on Aug. 23, 2019. FlahertyÕs jersey nickname and cleats honored his friend Tyler Skaggs who passed away earlier the season.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs’ jersey hangs in the dugout on July, 2019, the day after his death.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Fans gather in front of Angel Stadium on July 12, 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Angels players stand on the field for a moment of silence before their game at Angel Stadium on July 12, 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

A memorial for Skaggs outside Angel Stadium in July 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

A memorial on the outfield wall at Angel Stadium.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

A memorial outside Angel Stadium in July 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs during his start on June 29 against the Athletics.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs walks out onto the field for a spring training workout in 2018.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs during a spring training workout in 2018.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs, left, is congratulated and given the game ball after his major league debut on Aug. 22, 2012.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs pitching against the Blue Jays in May 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs warms up before a start in Seattle in 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs pitching against the Royals in 2019

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs pitched in the 2012 Futures Game in Kansas City.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs pitching in the 2011 Futures Game in Arizona.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs, right, with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins before a game in May 2019.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs pitching against the Mariners in July 2014.

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Tyler Skaggs: Look back at the career of the late MLB pitcher

Skaggs during spring training in 2012.

At issue is whether Kay’s distribution of opioids to Angels players fell within the scope of his regular duties as Angels communications director, with Skaggs attorneys arguing that Kay performed myriad tasks for the players, arranging tickets to sporting events, purchasing Viagra for one player and arranging massages and other appointments.

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The Angels contend that Skaggs, who fought a Percocet addiction as an Arizona Diamondback before he was acquired by the Angels in 2013, was the ringleader of a group of Angels players who abused Oxycodone and other opioids.

Lead attorney Todd Theodora contended Skaggs made other Angels players aware that Kay could provide pills, that the Angels handled Kay properly by facilitating his treatment for opioid addiction earlier in 2019, his recovery threatened by Skaggs continuing to ask him for pills.

“What you see here is a classic double standard,” Thedora argued.

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The final weeks of the trial, now stretching toward its second month, was marked by squabbles over Skaggs’ potential future earnings. The Angels deployed former major league general manager Dan Duquette to contend that Skaggs’ earnings potential was between zero and $50 million.

Skaggs was exactly halfway to his finest season as a pitcher, on track to make 30 starts and pitch a career-high 160 innings at the time of his death. As a left-handed starter, he would have always been a rare commodity on the free agent market.

The virtually impossible task of determining such value – and the risk for both sides of a massive jury award or nothing – creates the possibility of a settlement before the jury returns a verdict. A civil trial requires just eight of 12 jurors to agree on a verdict, and unlike a criminal trial, not needing to meet the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tyler Skaggs trial heading to jury as closing arguments conclude