Actress Gwyneth Paltrow cleared in skiing accident trial

A Utah jury found Gwyneth Paltrow not guilty in the 2016 skiing accident. Paltrow was also victorious in being able to file a lawsuit against the man who accused her.

Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, sued Paltrow, an Oscar-winning actress and CEO of Goop, over a 2016 collision at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.

The jury in the civil trial deliberated for just over two hours before returning its verdict in favor of the actress, who testified that it was Sanderson who skied onto her back as she was heading down the slope.

Sanderson is seeking nearly $300,000 in damages, alleging that the actress caused the collision that resulted in four broken ribs and brain damage due to a concussion.

Paltrow testified last week that Sanderson crashed into her with the ski. She seeks $1 (R$5,094) in damages, plus attorney fees.

In closing arguments, Sanderson’s lawyer, Robert Sykes, rejected allegations that he is seeking fame and attention. That day, the defender said, Sanderson “never went home the same”.

“Part of him will always be on that mountain,” he said. “We hope you will help bring Terry home from that mountain with a fair verdict for today.”

Paltrow’s attorney, Steve Owens, meanwhile, stated in closing that for Paltrow, it’s a matter of right and wrong and that it would be “easy” for Paltrow to “write a check and be done with it”, but said it would be ” wrong.”

“It’s really wrong that he hurt her and he wants money from her,” he told the jury.

He later added: “He has a right to be here today, but he has no right to be rewarded for hurting her.”

Another lawyer for the actress, James Egan, in his final part, referred to the comments from the opposite side, saying: “Ms. Paltrow also wants him off the mountain, but she shouldn’t be responsible for the cost of that.”

Key testimony

Paltrow told the jury that the collision happened on the first day of a trip to Deer Valley on which she was with her two children, then-boyfriend Falchuck and his two children.

She testified that two of his skis got between her skis, forcing her legs apart and that she heard a “grunting noise” when she felt a body pressing on her back before the two fell together.

Paltrow said she didn’t ask about Sanderson’s condition after they collided, but claimed she stayed on the mountain “long enough for him to say he was fine” and get up.

During his testimony, Sanderson reiterated claims that it was Paltrow who skied against him.

“I was hit in the back so hard and right in the shoulder blades and it felt like it was perfectly centered and the fists and the batons were right under my shoulder blades, really, really and I’ve never been hit so hard,” Sanderson testified. “All I saw was a lot of snow.”

Sanderson disputed suggestions that he sued Paltrow to exploit his fame and wealth.

“I thought, ‘I don’t like celebrity worship,’” Sanderson told the jury about learning she was the other skier involved in the collision.

Jurors also heard from a number of expert witnesses, Sanderson’s daughters, and testimonies from ski resort employees. The testimony of Paltrow’s two sons, Apple and Moses Martin, was also read to the jury during the trial.

(Posted by Carolina Farias)