A verdict was reached Thursday in the ski trial between Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and retired optometrist Terry Sanderson over an accident that occurred in 2016.
After a week-long trial, a Utah jury has found Paltrow not at fault for the 2016 ski collision that reportedly left Sanderson with four broken ribs and a brain injury while at the Deer Valley resort, according to the Associated Press.
In his $300,000 lawsuit Sanderson alleged Paltrow collided with him on the slopes after skiing recklessly. He then alleged that after the accident, Paltrow and her entourage subsequently left him injured in the snow as they continued making their way down the mountain. (RELATED: Doctor Suing Gwyneth Paltrow Takes The Stand)
BREAKING: Gwyneth Paltrow was not responsible for 2016 Utah ski collision that left man who sued with broken ribs, jury finds, ending a trial that became a pop culture fixation. https://t.co/JVkAw9RrYZ pic.twitter.com/ZiaJNEG9HX
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 30, 2023
Paltrow countered that claim, stating it was Sanderson who collided with her that day, going so far as to recall that after the collision the former doctor was allegedly making a “strange grunting noise” leading her to fear she was being sexually assaulted. “My brain was trying to make sense of what was happening,” she told the jury. “I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?'”
That fear, she admitted, made her upset enough to yell at Sanderson, “You skied directly into my fucking back!” Paltrow reportedly suffered from a sore knee the rest of the day, the BBC reported.
“[Sanderson’s] own daughter said he would be dishonest for notoriety or money,” Paltrow’s lawyer, Stephen Owens, said during Thursday’s closing arguments, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Despite Sanderson’s claims that the injury had a lasting effect on his health and quality of life, Owens pointed out Sanderson was “Mr. Activity” per his social media posts.
“He doesn’t tell his [doctors] he’s flying all over the world, that he’s biking, that he’s the poster boy for fitness at age 75!” Owens said. “He’s posting [online] every darned thing. This isn’t like me sending out a private investigator and trying to find pictures. All I have to do is [type] ‘Terry Sanderson,’ and my God — the man’s Mr. Activity,” Owens stated.
After a short deliberation the jury awarded Paltrow her countersuit claim of $1, the outlet stated.