Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial moves to closing arguments
Fox News' Jeff Paul reports the latest from the civil trial of actress Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski collision in Park City, Utah.
Attorneys delivered their closing arguments in the ski collision trial between Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson on Thursday. The jury heard from multiple expert witnesses, along with Sanderson and Paltrow, throughout the eight-day court proceedings.
Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000, claiming the actress skied into him from behind leaving him severely injured and changing his life.
The civil trial involving Gwyneth Paltrow is coming to a conclusion on Thursday, March 30, after eight days of testimony. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Paltrow's lawyer Stephen Owens emphasized that the actress has spent the last two weeks as a "punching bag" as she's attended each day of the trial.
He explained to the jury that Paltrow lost more than just a half day of skiing and actually lost out on a bonding experience with her then-boyfriend and now-husband Brad Falchuk due to the stress she endured after the ski collision.
"[Sanderson] hit her. He hurt her," Owens said. "And then he asked her for $3 million for the pleasure. That is not fair."
"The easy thing for my client would have been to write a check and be done with it," he added. "But what does that tell her kids?"
Owens also brought back up the idea of the GoPro footage – which Sanderson and his daughters claim has never existed – and the legal term spoliation. "Spoliation is probably a word you never heard before," the lawyer explained. "It's a legal term, but the idea is if they destroy evidence, you can assume that it was bad for them."
The lawyer suggested at one point there was GoPro footage because of an email his daughter, Shae Hareth, sent him where she said she was "so glad" there was GoPro video of the collision. Hareth has since testified that she misunderstood what her father had told her.
James Egan, another attorney for Paltrow, also claimed Sanderson's perceptions do not match reality.
"Maybe you've seen a pattern over the course of these last couple of weeks or the last two weeks," he told the jury. "On the one hand, you have real events and then on the other hand, you have embellishments. On the one hand, you have objective and on the other hand you have subjective reports. On the one hand, you have what happened in the past and then on the other hand have perception of what happened in the past."
Terry Sanderson's attorneys gave their closing arguments first after calling one rebuttal witness at the start of the morning. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Sanderson's attorney went first and began with an anecdote of a car crash he witnessed where a man ran a red light but believed the light to be green.
"I tell you that story because so often people that are in these types of events have a totally different viewpoint," Bob Sykes told the jury. "So, we don't hold anything against Gwyneth or her viewpoint as sincerely expressed, but she's wrong based on the evidence."
The attorney also suggested the "flakey" Deer Valley Resort investigation into what happened was a "cover up." Sykes accused ski instructor Eric Christiansen of being "inconsistent" specifically about the claim Sanderson told him he was "OK" despite having four broken ribs.
Sanderson's lawyer Lawrence Buhler emphasized his persistent concussion symptoms are permanent.
He claimed Sanderson's symptoms "last a lifetime, they last forever."
Buhler pointed out this case is "not about celebrity. He stated to the jury, "It's not about that. There are lots of indications of that. But this is about a man's life."
Paltrow's lawyer questioned Sanderson on Wednesday afternoon about how he was able to travel the world while also being a "recluse" in the years following the 2016 ski collision.
Sanderson, now 76, was labeled a "self-imposed recluse" throughout the trial. His lawyers claimed during opening statements that since the accident, Sanderson had not been able to participate in the activities he loved to do, such as wine tasting.
Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyers showed pictures of Terry Sanderson from his social media accounts. (Rick Bowmer)
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Terry Sanderson, the Utah man suing Gwyneth Paltrow, leaves the courtroom on Wednesday. The trial is set to conclude March 30. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
However, during cross-examination, Paltrow's lawyer asked the retired optometrist about the world-wide traveling he has done in the years after the ski collision. Owens presented the jury with a round of photos showing Sanderson on various excursions after the crash – including trips to Peru, Germany, Morocco, scuba diving, zip-lining, bike rides and boat tours.
Sanderson said that his travels were "part of the healing process." He testified, "I was told by several neurologists and cognitive therapists, 'Get back to your routine. As soon you can do that, the better you'll be.'"
"Looking back at that time, I was determined to prove I didn't have any mental issues," he said.
Gwyneth Paltrow countersued Terry Sanderson for $1 plus attorneys' fees. (Rick Bowmer)
Gwyneth Paltrow testified that she lost "half a day of skiing" on the day of the collision in 2016. (Rick Bowmer)
Paltrow and Sanderson's recollection of the accident differs. The actress has claimed that Sanderson skied into her from behind, while the retired optometrist testified that Paltrow lost control and rammed into him.
During Friday's court proceedings, Paltrow testified that she initially thought "something perverted" was happening when Sanderson's skis came between her own, and he allegedly pressed up against her back.
"I was confused at first, and I didn’t know exactly what was happening. It’s a very strange thing to be happening on a ski slope," she recalled. "I froze, and I would say I got very upset a couple seconds later."
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Paltrow explained why she initially thought she might have been getting sexually assaulted during questioning by Sanderson's lawyer.
"So that was a quick thought that went through my head when I was trying to reconcile what was happening," Paltrow explained. "Two skis came between my skis forcing my legs apart and then a body pressed against me.
"My brain was trying to make sense of what is happening," she added. "I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?’ My mind was going very, very quickly, and my mind was trying to ascertain what happened."
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The ski collision between Gwyneth Paltrow, left, and Terry Sanderson occurred in 2016. (Associated Press)
Paltrow and Sanderson's legal fight is the result of the 2016 ski collision that left Sanderson severely injured, according to a 2019 lawsuit. Jurors have heard testimony from doctors speaking on Sanderson's medical condition prior to and following the collision.
Sanderson accused the Goop founder of skiing off after the accident, which left him with a "permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life," along with emotional distress and disfigurement, according to the suit.
Sanderson originally sued the actress, Deer Valley Resort and an instructor for $3.1 million and claimed he was a victim of a hit-and-run. A judge dismissed the claim, and Deer Valley Resort and the instructor were removed from the lawsuit.
Paltrow has filed a countersuit, claiming that Sanderson previously admitted he did not have a clear memory of the accident. The actress is seeking a judgment for attorneys' fees plus $1.
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Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
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