In the latest high profile civil court case to grip the showbiz world, Goop founder and Marvel actress Gwyneth Paltrow has appeared in court over claims she seriously injured a man in a “hit-and-run” crash at a ski resort in 2016.
Gwyneth made her first court appearance in connection with the case on Tuesday, where she is being sued by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who alleged that Gwyneth skied “out of control” and hit him at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, in Utah.
The Shallow Hal actress denies the claim and instead alleges that it was actually Terry that skied into her.
Seven years on since the incident back in February 2016, a court will now decide who’s responsible for the damages, which currently sit at $300,000 for Sanderson’s claim against the star, or a single dollar and legal fees, should the court instead find in Gwyneth’s favour.
So what exactly is this court case all about?
Case Background
The court case all stems from a complaint made by Terry Sanderson, a 76 year old retired optometrist, who accused the Hollywood actress of crashing into him while they were both skiing on a Utah mountain in February 2016.
According to court documents, which were filed back in 2019, Mr. Sanderson suffered a number of injuries in the incident, which included a “brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries.”
The court documents also set out the lasting impact he claims these injuries have had on his life, with Mr.Sanderson claiming he suffered a permanent traumatic brain injury, “loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement”.
In his own assessment of the situation, Gwyneth was allegedly “skiing out of control” before “knocking him down hard, knocking him out.”
He also claims that following the incident, neither the star, nor her ski instructor helped him to get any medical care and instead skied away.
Mr Sanderson claims: “Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”
The court filing also stated that a Deer Valley ski instructor, who had been training Paltrow saw Mr Sanderson injured but also made no attempt to help him.
The instructor did not send for help and later accused Mr Sanderson of having caused the crash in a “false report to protect his client”, the court filing stated.
Iron Man star Gwyneth refutes this version of events and had instead launched a countersuit which alleges she was “was enjoying skiing with her family on vacation in Utah, when Plaintiff – who was uphill from Ms. Paltrow – ploughed into her back.
“She sustained a full ‘body blow.’ Ms. Paltrow was angry with Plaintiff, and said so. She claims the Plaintiff apologised she claims she was shaken and upset, and quit skiing for the day even though it was still morning.”
Initially, Mr.Sanderson set out to sue the star for $3.1million dollars (£2.5million) in damages, but later dropped this amount to $300,000 (£244,000).
Gwyneth is countersuing for 'symbolic damages' of $1 plus her legal fees.
Mr. Sanderson’s Claim
As the case got underway on Tuesday, opening statements from both parties were shared with the court.
Lawrence Buhler, representing Mr Sanderson, told jurors that Paltrow’s behaviour on the mountain in 2016 had been “reckless”.
“Ladies and gentlemen… distracted skiers cause crashes. Defendant Gwyneth Paltrow knew that looking up the mountain and to the side while skiing down the mountain was dangerous,” he said.
"(She) was looking somewhere else blindly skiing down a mountain while looking up… (this) was reckless.”
Mr Buhler added that an injury being caused was “not a matter of if, but when” and that Paltrow “knew what she was doing was dangerous”.
He went on to tell the jury that the actress’ “neglect and conscious choices” had combined together to cause Mr Sanderson “four broken ribs and permanent brain damage”.
He also alleged that following the collision, the star hasn’t said a word to Mr.Sanderson, and instead claims she “bolted” away down the mountain.
For a year after the collision, Mr.Buhler told the court that his client had made frequent trips to medical professionals and displayed symptoms consistent with a “persistent brain injury.”
“Before this crash, Terry was a charming, gregarious outgoing person,” Mr Buhler said.
“He was living a full life travelling the world, doing everything possible to enjoy life and guard his health… but after the crash, he is no longer charming.”
The defence is seeking damages of up to 3,276,000 dollars (£2,688,000), Mr Buhler said.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s counterclaim
In his opening remarks, Stephen Owens, who is representing Gwyneth Paltrow, told the court that the actress was a “conservative” skier and had been “freaked out” when she had collided with Mr Sanderson.
He also told the court that Mr.Sanderson had been struggling with both vision and hearing problems at the time of the incident and had previously informed his doctors that he was “feeling old suddenly.”
“You’ll never hear the words hit and run,” he told the court.
“This was not a hit and run. The plaintiff even had a ski expert evaluate it and he said it’s not a hit and run – take that out of your mind.
“Gwyneth was hurt by Mr Sanderson’s negligence… she is upset. Anyone sustaining a blow is upset, she is sore, she never went to a doctor…but it rattled her and it physically hurt her.”
Mr Owens noted that three years on from the incident, Mr Sanderson had described Paltrow as having come “out of the jungle like King Kong screaming”.
“When asked in real time by Gwyneth he said ‘I apologise, I’m sorry’. When asked by the ski instructor he said ‘she appeared right in front of me’, and when asked by the toboggan person he said ‘I don’t know’,” he said.
“Mr Sanderson said his memories of this case get better over the years, that’s all I’m going to say about that – that’s not how memory works.”
In a response to the lawsuit being raised against her, Gwyneth has filed a counterclaim alleging that Mr Sanderson had hit her and delivered a full “body blow” and is seeking damages of just one dollar.
Producing a one dollar bill in court, Mr Owens added: “We ask you for a dollar.
“This is a lot to go through for a dollar… so she came for a family vacation, half the afternoon was kind of ruined, so that dollar is important to us, to my client.”
Trial duration
Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson are scheduled to give testimony at the trial, which is expected to last eight days in total.
Other notable parties expected to testify include Gwyneth’s now-husband Brad Falchuk and her children Moses, 16 and Apple, 18.
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