(CNN) Gwyneth Paltrow won a civil lawsuit over a ski crash in 2016.
A jury in Utah on Thursday found Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actor and Goop founder and CEO, not responsible and ruled in her favor in a counterclaim against the man who sued her. Did.
Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, has sued Paltrow over lingering injuries he said he suffered when the two clashed at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, more than seven years ago.
jury civil trial After just over two hours of deliberation, the verdict was handed down in Paltrow’s favor. Paltrow testified that it was Sanderson who ran her ski into his back as he was going downhill.
trial I started on March 21st.
Sanderson’s attorney Thursday asked a jury to consider his client’s brain injury and life expectancy, suggesting that the jury award Sanderson $3.2 million.
Sanderson’s complaint alleged that his damages were more than $300,000.
Gwyneth Paltrow hears the verdict read out March 30, 2023 in Park City, Utah.
Paltrow testified last week That Sanderson gave her a ski. She sought and was granted $1 in damages and attorneys’ fees for the counterclaim.
After the verdict was read, Paltrow released a statement through her attorney.
“I felt that acquiescing to false allegations would undermine my integrity. Thank you for your thoughtfulness,” said Paltrow.
Her attorney, Steve Owens, also issued a statement.
“We are pleased with this unanimous outcome and appreciate the judge and jury for their thoughtful handling of the case.” Not the exception, she will stand up for what is right.”
Sanderson told reporters outside the courtroom.
When he saw Paltrow with a hand on her shoulder after the verdict was read out, she said to him, “I wish you good health.”
He later said he believed “she thinks he has the truth”, but claimed he did not present any “falsehoods” during the trial.
Sanderson’s attorney, Kristin VanOrham, said she has a “new appreciation” for Paltrow when she answered questions about media coverage and interest in the trial.
“I can’t imagine if she has to deal with all this on a daily basis, and I sympathize with her about it,” she told reporters. “It wasn’t Startrax.”
closing argument
Before the jury was sent to trial, Sanderson’s attorney, Robert Sykes, dismissed claims that Sanderson had taken to court for fame and attention.
“Part of him will always be on that mountain,” Sykes said in his closing statement. “I hope today’s fair verdict will help bring Terry home from that mountain.”
Owens, on the other hand, argued that for Paltrow it was a matter of right and wrong, and that while it would be “easy” for Paltrow to “write a check and be done with it”, it would be “wrong”.
Gwyneth Paltrow speaks with Terry Sanderson (left) walking out of the courtroom after reading the verdict during a lawsuit hearing in Park City, Utah, Thursday, March 30, 2023.
“It was actually wrong for him to hurt her and he wants money from her,” he told the jury.
He later said, “He has the right to be here today, but he has no right to be rewarded for hurting her.
Paltrow’s attorney, James Egan, referred to comments from the other side in the closing paragraph, stating:
important testimony
Paltrow told jurors that the collision occurred on the first day of their trip to Deer Valley.
She testified that she heard a “groan” when the two skis got stuck between them, forcing her legs apart and she felt her body press against her back, before they both collapsed together. .
Paltrow didn’t ask about Sanderson’s condition after the crash, but claimed he stayed on the mountain “long enough to say he was okay” and stood up.
Terry Sanderson in court on March 27.
Sanderson repeatedly claimed in his testimony that it was Paltrow who skied him.
“I was hit hard in the back and hit my shoulder blade. It was perfectly centered and felt like my fist and stick were right under my shoulder blade. “It’s hard,” Sanderson testified. “All I saw was a lot of snow.”
Sanderson disputed the suggestion that he sued Paltrow to use her fame and fortune.
“I thought, ‘I don’t worship celebrities,'” Sanderson told jurors about finding out he was the other skier involved in the crash.
The jury also heard testimony from a number of expert witnesses, Sanderson’s daughter and a ski resort employee. The testimony of Paltrow’s two children, Apple and Moses Martin, was also read to the jury during the trial.
