Ski collision case won by Gwyneth Paltrow
In the civil action involving a ski accident in 2016, Gwyneth Paltrow was victorious.
On Thursday, a Utah jury rejected Paltrow’s lawsuit against the man who had sued her and deemed the Oscar-winning actor, who now serves as the creator and CEO of Goop, not responsible.
A retired ophthalmologist named Terry Sanderson filed a lawsuit against Paltrow for allegedly inflicting permanent harm on him during their collision at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, more than seven years ago.
Paltrow testified that Sanderson skied into her back as she was on the downhill side of him during the civil trial, and the jury ultimately found in her favor after deliberating for just over two hours.
On March 21, the trial commenced.
On Thursday, Sanderson’s lawyer requested that the jury take Sanderson’s brain impairment and expected lifespan into account and pay him $3.2 million. According to Sanderson’s allegation, his losses exceeded $300,000. Sanderson skied into Paltrow, according to her testimony from last week. In her counterclaim, she asked for and received $1 in damages as well as legal costs.
Paltrow issued a statement via her counsel following the reading of the decision.
“I believed that accepting a bogus claim jeopardized my honesty. I am happy with the result, and I appreciate all the hard work Judge Holmberg and the jury put into this case. I also thank them for their consideration in handling it,” Paltrow added.
She also sent a statement through her lawyer, Steve Owens.
“We are happy with this unanimous decision and value the judge and jury’s careful consideration of the facts,” he said. “Gwyneth has a history of standing up for what she believes in; this scenario was no different, and she will continue to do so,” a source said.
Sanderson engaged in a press conference outside the court.
Once the decision was read, Paltrow was reportedly spotted putting her hand on his shoulder and saying, “I wish you luck,” according to him.
Later, he admitted that “she thinks she has the truth,” but he said that he didn’t offer any “falsehoods” at the trial.
About the media attention and interest in the case, Sanderson’s attorney Kristin VanOrnum responded that she has a “newfound appreciation” for Paltrow.
She told reporters that she was “not starstruck,” and went on to say, “If she has to deal with all of this on a daily basis, I can’t even comprehend and I feel for her on that.”
final justifications
Sanderson’s lawyer, Robert Sykes, denied allegations that Sanderson brought his case to court in an effort to gain notoriety and attention before the jury was instructed to deliberate.
Sykes remarked in his closing remarks, “Part of him will always be on that mountain.” “We hope you will assist in bringing Terry home from that mountain with a just judgment for today.”
It would be “simple” for Paltrow to “send a check and be done with it,” but Owens said that would be “wrong.” It’s genuinely terrible that he wounded her, and he wants money from her, Owens said in his closing argument to the jury.
In a later statement, he continued, “He’s entitled to be here today, but he’s not entitled to be rewarded for harming her.”
In his part of the closing, Paltrow’s attorney James Egan alluded back to the remarks made by the other side, saying: “Ms. Paltrow also wants him down off the mountain, but she shouldn’t foot the bill for it.
crucial evidence
The accident occurred on the first day of a trip to Deer Valley that Paltrow was taking with her two kids, her ex-boyfriend Falchuck, and his two kids, according to testimony she gave to the jury.
She claimed that a person pressed against her back and she heard a “grunting noise” before two skis forced her legs apart and they both fell to the ground at the same time.
Paltrow claimed she waited on the mountain “long enough for him to indicate that he was Alright” and to stand up but denied that she questioned Sanderson’s wellbeing following their collision. Sanderson repeated his allegations that Paltrow skied into him throughout his testimony.
In his testimony, Sanderson said, “I got hit in my back so hard and exactly at my shoulder blades. It seemed like it was perfectly aligned and the fists and the poles were right at the bottom of my shoulder blades, serious, serious smack and I’ve never been hit that hard.” “The only thing I saw was a lot of snow.”
The idea that Sanderson sued Paltrow to profit from her fame and fortune was refuted by Sanderson.
When Sanderson found out she was the second skier involved in their incident, she said before the jury, “I thought, ‘I’m not into celebrity worship.'”
A number of expert witnesses, Sanderson’s daughters, and testimony from ski resort staff were also presented to the jury. Apple and Moses Martin, Paltrow’s two children, also testified in the trial, and their testimony was also read to the jury.
