The most absurd moments from the Gwyneth Paltrow trial
For the past week and half all eyes have been glued to the live-stream lawsuit between actor-turned-wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist.
A jury has unanimously found Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow did not cause the collision with the retired optometrist Terry Sanderson who had claimed she left him with brain damage.
For the past week and half all eyes have been glued to the live-stream lawsuit between actor-turned-wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist.
The legal battle, seven years in the making, revolves around a collision that took place between Paltrow and Sanderson in February 2016, at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah, an exclusive skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, apres-ski champagne yurts, and A-list clientele.
The trial has not been without its share of viral moments and glorious farce, like Paltrow shielding her face with a $250 notebook; her Jeffrey Dahmer spectacles; a starstruck lawyer’s cross-examination about her height and friendship with Taylor Swift; bickering about who can bring “treats” in for bailiffs; claims that Sanderson can no longer enjoy wine; and the immortalised lines “we lost half a day of skiing” and “you skied directly into my effing back.”
For those who have not been following: Sanderson sued Paltrow. He claims that she was skiing “out of control” when she slammed into him from behind, “knocking him down, landing on top of him, and causing him to suffer a concussion, brain injury, and four broken ribs.”
The collision, he says, caused him to endure “pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and disfigurement,” as well as “anxiety, depression, and other health problems”.
Mr. Sanderson’s legal team asked the jury during closing arguments Thursday to consider awarding him nearly $3.3 million in damages. Ms Paltrow asked for $1, of which she was awarded.
Sanderson’s initial attempt to sue Paltrow for $3.1 million in 2019 was knocked back by a judge who ruled he was not entitled to punitive damages. Paltrow filed a counterclaim, seeking lawyer fees and $1 in damages.
At the centre of the trial is one question and one obscure Utah law: who caused the collision, and which skier was downhill, and therefore had the right of way. Both Paltrow and Sanderson claim that they were the downhill skier.
The trial so far
Paltrow and Sanderson have conflicting accounts on how the collision went down, both say the other party is responsible. In his testimony, the former doctor told the jury that in the lead up to the crash he heard a “bloodcurdling scream” (which he attempted to recreate on the stand) and that he had “never been hit that hard.”
Speaking in court, Terry Sanderson recreates the "blood-curdling scream" he claims to have heard before he and Gwyneth Paltrow collided on a Utah ski slope
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 27, 2023
Latest updates: https://t.co/8Mh0QFNHFPpic.twitter.com/rcI1TrDV9J
The defence argued that it was Sanderson who “ploughed into” Paltrows back, causing her to sustain a “full body blow.” During her testimony, Paltrow told the jury that she initially feared the crash was a sexual assault. “Two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart, and there was a body pressing against me. And there was a very strange groaning noise.”
The actor said: “Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?”
The pair were almost “spooning” as they crashed, she said. After recovering from the collision, Paltrow screamed: “You skied directly into my effing back!” – language for which she apologised in court for.
In opening statements, Sanderson’s lawyer argued that not only had Paltrow violated ski etiquette by failing to give his client the right of way, but she “knew what she was doing was dangerous.”
They said that as a result, Sanderson has suffered a personality shift. “Before this crash, Terry was a charming, outgoing, gregarious person,” his lawyer informed the jury. “After the crash, he’s no longer charming.”
In aid of that statement, witnesses — mainly friends and family members — took the stand to outline just how unpleasant Sanderson is to be around.
His eldest daughter, Shae Herath (”pronounced like Harris with a lisp”), said that he had become “very insecure” and that her daughter did not want to be near him anymore because he was verbally abusive. She also said that her father had become “obsessed” with getting an apology from Paltrow.
Sanderson’s team has attempted to characterise Paltrow as an out-of-touch celebrity looking to evade accountability. Sanderson’s lawyer Lawrence Buhler highlighted his client’s military background, while hammering home Paltrow’s wealth (”she hires multiple ski instructors for her children, which allows them to skip the lines”).
This Gwyneth Paltrow testimony is like an SNL skit. pic.twitter.com/7wBMtZqHO5
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) March 25, 2023
When cross-examining Paltrow, Kristen “I’m just a country lawyer here” Vanorman — the true star of this legal pantomime — admired the actor’s height, pondered about her elegant ski attire (“You were wearing goggles and a helmet. You kind of looked like everybody else on the slope? Probably had a better ski outfit though, I bet!”), and made assumptions about her generosity as a tipper.
Vanolsen also launched into a line of questioning about Taylor Swift, who also sought symbolic damages of $1 in a 2017 court case. Paltrow was questioned about the perimeter of her friendship with Swift (”friendly” but not “good friends”) and if she had given the pop star “personal, intimate gifts for Christmas?” (a vibrator — the judge sustained, “how is this relevant?”).
Gwyneth Paltrow gets interrogated about whether she’s friends with Taylor Swift during ski accident trial due to her countersuit being $1, the same amount as Taylor’s lawsuit in 2017.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 25, 2023
pic.twitter.com/2T4UhmwbIx
Paltrow has alleged that Sanderson is overstating his injuries and trying to exploit her celebrity and wealth. “He demanded Ms. Paltrow pay him millions. If she did not pay, she would face negative publicity resulting from his allegations,” her attorneys wrote in a 2019 court filing.
Sanderson denied these claims (”I’m not into celebrity worship.”) Asked if he thought it was “cool” to have collided with a celebrity, he said: “Absolutely not. That is not who I am. No.”
He was then shown an email he had sent to his three daughters, with the subject line “I’m famous … at what cost?”, in which he wrote that it was ”cool” he had collided with a celebrity.
“My head was scrambled,” he said. “All I was trying to do is desperately communicate with my kids before they heard from somebody else I got crushed. I didn’t pick my words well.”
During the first two days of the trial, Sanderson’s lawyers and several expert medical witnesses used X-rays, brain scans and neurological tests to try to persuade jurors that the collision left their client with irreparable, life-altering injuries. “After his accident, he deteriorated abruptly,” Dr. Wendell Gibby said. Gibby, a radiologist, said Sanderson’s head trauma was likely caused by a skier crashing into him, supporting Sanderson’s claims that he was hit by Paltrow.
Dr. Samuel Goldstein, a neuropsychologist, called Sanderson’s post-crash trajectory an “acute rapid downturn” and asked jurors to use their common sense, and not be swamped by questions about white matter beneath the cortex of the brain.
Paltrow’s team brought in a cadre of neurological experts who all agreed that Sanderson’s problems appeared to predate the crash.
Neuroradiologist Dr Carl Black said that after reviewing Mr Sanderson’s 2009 MRI, he concluded that his brain “anomalies” — including microvascular disease and hydrocephalus — were present before the 2016 ski crash, and date back to 2009.
Dr Robert Hoesch testified that Sanderson’s complaints about his cognitive decline don’t stem from the crash and suggested that the white matter show in Sanderson’s brain scans from before the crash showed early signs of dementia. He added that the feelings of depression and anxiety Sanderson has described could exist as a result of natural, age-related brain deterioration.
“The ski injury caused a mild concussion and his symptoms are more likely to be due to pre-existing conditions or new conditions,” Hoesch said, suggesting that Sanderson should walk away from the lawsuit for the good of his health.
There was a kerfuffle on the third day of trial when Paltrow’s lawyer, Steve Owens, asked Judge Kent Holmberg: “Private security for my client wanted to bring in treats for the bailiffs for how helpful they‘ve been. So, I wanted to do that transparently and see if there are any objections.” There were objections, and the bailiffs were left without their adaptogen-rich treats.
Whatever happens, it’s been a thrill to witness, if not for Paltrow’s outfits alone. Watching her traipse into that drab orange courtroom, looking like the embodiment of chic had the same uncanny affect of those Balenciaga shows where models in latex bodysuits took over the New York Stock Exchange floor.
The clothes were tasteful wealth — plush knits from The Row, earthy olive tones; a black Prada ensembles you’d wear to the funeral of an enemy; classic Céline bags; and of course, the Ray Bay aviators — which earned comparisons to both Jeffrrey Dahmer and Adam Driver’s character, Maurizio Gucci, in House of Gucci.
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