Gwyneth Paltrow is appearing not in a new movie this week but in a Utah courtroom…
She’s there for a civil trial after a retired optometrist, Terry Sanderson accused her of crashing into him while skiing on a bunny hill at a Park City resort.
Sanderson brought the lawsuit against Paltrow, claiming she crashed into him and then skied away. He said the accident left him with broken ribs and permanent brain damage.
Paltrow has denied that she caused the collision, filing a lawsuit of her own against Sanderson. She says he was the one who crashed into her.
Here’s how The Washington Post breaks it down,
- Sanderson, a retired 76-year-old military vet and optometrist filed his lawsuit against Paltrow in 2019
- he initially sought $3 million then dropped it to $300,000
- Attorney Lawrence Buhler, said the celebrity had turned to watch her children ski and then “skis into the back of Terry Sanderson.”
- Sanderson complained that his ribs hurt and went to an emergency room with a concussion and four broken ribs
Acquaintance and ski companion Craig Ramon, the only person to witness the crash, testified that he was nearby,
I hear this scream and then I see this skier just slam into the back of Terry.
Before this crash, Terry was an outgoing, charming, gregarious person. But after the crash, he’s no longer charming.”
No longer charming?
Paltrow agrees the pair collided on a ski run seven years ago, but she says the accident was Sanderson’s fault.
Attorney Stephen Owens said, that she initially wondered,
Am I being assaulted? She’s skiing, enjoying herself. Suddenly she sees two skis appear between her skis. And a man comes up right behind her.”
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Owens said, Sanderson asked,
Who ran into who?”
He reportedly apologized to Paltrow when she said he hit her. Members of Paltrow’s group said they checked on Sanderson, who said he was okay, her attorney argued, and Sanderson repeated the same thing to a ski patrol member.
No one recognized Paltrow with a helmet and goggles, but after identity her was revealed, Sanderson wrote to his daughters,
I’m famous.”
Paltrow’s attorney says,
I don’t want to seem like I’m beating up on a kindly old man, but keep in mind we have to do this because they’ve said Gwyneth owes me $3 million.”
AP reported that Paltrow filed a counterclaim, seeking attorneys fees and $1 in damages saying that Sanderson caused the collision, overstated his injuries, and is trying to exploit her fame and wealth.
Well, one thing I can say for sure you nor I, nor likely anyone reading this knows what really happened. So all of this venom spewed out online at Paltrow seems particularly nasty.
I have no idea of whether she’s guilty or innocent either, obviously, but just because you may not like someone (or how they look in a courtroom) doesn’t make them guilty. What’s that quaint American legal ideal…?
Innocent until proven guilty by a jury of your peers..?
The two daughters of a retired optometrist suing Gwyneth Paltrow are expected to testify about the lasting effects of their father and Paltrow’s 2016 ski collision as the trial heads into a third day. https://t.co/eoTGaaHVRk
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 23, 2023
(Photos, screen grabs; via The Washington Post)
