Gwyneth Paltrow is said to have given way to an elderly man on a ski slope in 2016. The result of the accident: a craniocerebral trauma, claims the plaintiff. These are the most explosive process statements.
Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, has been in court in Park City, Utah for eight days since March 21, 2023. The accusation: an alleged hit-and-run skiing accident in 2016. In the collision with the actress, the plaintiff Terry Sanderson, 76, claims to have suffered a craniocerebral trauma and four broken ribs. This is reported, among other things, by the US magazine “People”. Gwyneth, on the other hand, claims the retired doctor hit her, a Paltrow representative told People.
His original $3.1 million in damages was rejected by a court in 2022. Now he is demanding $300,000 (equivalent to just under €280,000), while Paltrow in her counterclaim is only asking for a symbolic sum of one US dollar and the repayment of her court costs. The courtroom has been hotly debated for days, we have summarized the most explosive statements for you.
Gwyneth Paltrow in court: 5 revelations from her trial
1. Who hit whom now?
In 2016, Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson collided while skiing a beginner’s slope at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. He claims it’s her fault, she claims it’s his fault. But who is right now? According to the rules of skiing, the person who is further down the mountain, i.e. the downhill skier, has the right of way. This emerges from the opening statements of both legal teams, which were held on March 21st.
Terry Sanderson is suing Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000. The accusation: an alleged hit-and-run skiing accident in 2016.
© EPO | Rick Bowmer / POOL / Picture Alliance
The problem: Sanderson’s attorney Lawrence Buhler claims his client was the downhill skier and also Gwyneth’s team. Her attorney Stephen Owens explained that the actress was skiing when she suddenly saw “two skis appear between her skis and a man appear right behind her”, adding that she thought she was about to be attacked. Meanwhile, Bühler claims that Paltrow went “out of control” on the beginner’s slope, driving Sanderson in the back.
2. Gwyneth Paltrow’s team sees Terry Sanderson’s ‘traumatic’ injuries as excessive
Terry Sanderson suffered four broken ribs and a traumatic brain injury after colliding with Gwyneth Paltrow. According to his legal team, he was unconscious for several minutes and did not know where he was when he regained consciousness. The indictment states, “Gwyneth Paltrow went out of control while skiing, crashed [Sanderson] hard on the ground, knocking him unconscious […] got up, turned and skied away while Sanderson lay stunned and badly injured in the snow,” reports People.
Gwyneth Paltrow appears in courtroom at the Circuit Court in Park City, Utah on March 21, 2023.
© ASSOCIATED PRESS | Rick Bowmer/Picture Alliance
Paltrow’s attorney, Owens, says Sanderson’s injury claims are exaggerated, citing his overseas travel to 10 countries in the years since the incident. He also argued that Dr. Wendell Gibby, a neuroradiology expert hired by Sanderson’s attorneys, failed to account for the plaintiff’s previous brain injuries prior to the collision with the actress in his MRI scan.
3. Ski trip was a test for her now blended family with Brad Falchuk
Alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, her two children, Apple Martin, 18, and Moses Martin, 16, who she has with ex Chris Martin, 46, will also testify in court. Lawyer Stephen Owens confirmed this in his opening speech and revealed: The ski trip should be a test for her blended family with her current husband Brad Falchuk, 52, and his children Isabella and Brody. As he explained: “[Falchuk] has children exactly the same age as Gwyneth’s daughter and son and this was their first trip together to see if this could work. So it was a special time” – which ended extremely unpleasantly with an accident.
4. The plaintiff is said to have emailed his daughter after the accident: “I’m famous”
In his opening statement, the Oscar winner’s lawyer also revealed that the plaintiff sent his daughter an email with the words “I’m famous” right after the collision with Paltrow. A sentence with a strange aftertaste. Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorney also stressed that Terry Sanderson is “obsessed with this lawsuit” and that he is “aging” (Sanderson is now 76 years old).
5. Paltrow’s team objects to media attention
The trial is being streamed live by multiple networks, an Associated Press photographer is present in the courtroom, and some members of the media are present outside the Park City District Court. Her team complained about the great attention that Paltrow’s process received. A camera aimed directly at her face would “break the rules of decency,” as would a “reporter in front of the car [s]of a client” while she wanted to leave.
Source used: people.com