Celebrity News March 30, 2023
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Ski Trial: Lawyers Sound-Off in Closing Arguments
UPDATE: A verdict has been reached in Gwyneth Paltrow's favor. She has been cleared of any wrongdoing and awarded $1 as requested in her countersuit. Read the full story here.
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Gwyneth Paltrow was all smiles today as she walked into the courthouse for the eighth day of her ski crash trial.
The plaintiff, Terry Sanderson, greeted photographers as he entered, just before lawyers began their closing arguments.
Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages, claiming Paltrow skied into him while on the slopes at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, in 2016. He says the collision left him with four broken ribs and brain damage from a concussion.
Paltrow insists he is the one who skied into her. She is countersuing for $1 and attorney fees.
Sanderson’s lawyers presented closing arguments first, with attorney Robert B. Sykes telling the jury about witnessing a car accident in which one driver believed the light was green, when it was actually red.
"I tell you that story because so often people that are in these types of events have a totally different viewpoint," Sykes said. "So, we don't hold anything against Gwyneth or her viewpoint as sincerely expressed, but she's wrong based on the evidence."
He also said, “Gwyneth Paltrow, in this case, is not a liar. Terry Sanderson is not a liar, okay? Gwyneth is a good person, okay? She is a good mother and she loves her children and she is passionate about many things… I believe Gwyneth Paltrow when she says she believes, she says, ‘Terry hit me in the back.’ She believes it, it is a sincere belief, she is not a liar because of it, but the problem is a sincere belief doesn’t make it so.”
Meanwhile, Paltrow’s lawyer Stephen Owens declared, “He hit her, he hurt her, and now he wants $3 million for it. That’s not fair. The easy thing for my client would have been to write a check and be done with it, but what does that tell her kids? Just, cost of business? No. Wrong. It is actually wrong that he hurt her and he wants money from her.”
After closing arguments, the jury began deliberations.
During the trial, Sanderson was presented with an avalanche of evidence that he went globetrotting after the incident, despite his injury claims.
He insisted, however, “It was part of the healing process. I was told by several neurologists and cognitive therapists, ‘Get back to your routine. The sooner you do that, the better you’ll be.’”
“Extra” spoke with former L.A. prosecutor Emily D. Baker, who shared, “This jury does not have to be unanimous. Only six of them have to agree. The standard of proof is preponderance, which is very low, and not all the same six have to agree on everything. This is not a hard burden to overcome, but this jury also could say that they are 50/50 at fault and walk away where nobody wins.”
