PARK CITY, Utah — The man who sued Gwyneth Paltrow for a 2016 ski collision at a luxury Utah resort told a jury Monday that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer slammed into him from behind, sending him «absolutely flying.»
“All I saw was a lot of snow. And I didn’t see the sky, but I was flying,» said Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist, calling it «a serious blow.»
That is the opposite of what Paltrow testified, and the jury has heard dueling narratives as the trial enters its second week. Paltrow said that Sanderson was uphill and hit her from behind her. He is suing her for more than $300,000, alleging that she skied recklessly and that he has permanent brain damage from the accident that altered her personality.
On the stand Friday, Paltrow said Sanderson hit her softly from behind, but the collision escalated when the two skidded down the beginner’s slope. She said her skis drifted between her legs, causing her to briefly panic when she heard a man groaning behind her. Paltrow was present in court on Monday.
Sanderson recalled a screaming woman skiing out of control and hit him in the back. Craig Ramon, another skier who says he was the only eyewitness to the crash, testified last week that he saw Paltrow punch Sanderson.
Regardless of who hit who, both sides agree that they both went down and Paltrow landed on top of Sanderson. Paltrow’s lawyers have disputed the measure of Sanderson’s injuries and post-crash disorientation, but both sides say the collision resulted in Sanderson’s four broken ribs and a concussion.
Sanderson broke down in tears during her testimony Monday, particularly when she seemed unable to concentrate or remember things.
His legal team attempted to present his confusion and memory lapses to support his brain damage argument. Paltrow’s lawyers used it to undermine his reliability as a witness.
Sanderson’s testimony also raised questions about the possibility that a helmet-mounted GoPro camera could have documented the crash. Although no recordings became evidence for the trial, lawyers have repeatedly questioned witnesses about an email one of their daughters sent that said: «I can’t believe all of this is on GoPro either.»
That daughter, Shae Herath, testified last week that her words were mere speculation that someone on luxury mountain must be equipped with a helmet camera because it’s a fixture at ski resorts.
Paltrow’s lawyers have continued to raise questions about what happened to the images Sanderson and her family members referred to.
It became clear Monday that potentially explosive evidence would not go off.
Judge Kent Holmberg said that online detectives had found the link and that its contents would be included in evidence. It did not contain GoPro footage. Instead, it was a conversation among members of Sanderson’s ski group, in which Ramón, the man who claims to be the only eyewitness to the accident, said on the day of the accident that Paltrow had crashed into Sanderson.
“Terry was knocked unconscious. Bad hit to the head! Ramon wrote. “I saw the hit. Terry didn’t know his name.»
The exchange made it clear that Ramón thought Paltrow slammed into Sanderson years before a lawsuit was filed. It also shows that Sanderson and those who skied with him knew that the woman in the accident was Paltrow.
After four and a half days of Sanderson’s lawyers calling witnesses, Paltrow’s defense team has just as much time to present their case. One of his family’s four ski instructors took the stand Monday afternoon. Lawyers said Monday that depositions from Paltrow’s two teenage sons, Moses and Apple, would be read into the record later in the week instead of appearing in court.
Jurors froze as Paltrow’s lawyers played computer-animated reconstructions of how they say the collision occurred, with a resolution high enough to show trees, children’s ski coats and multiple vantage points.
For their first witness, the defense called Eric Christiansen, a 40-year-old mustachioed veteran ski instructor who was giving a lesson to Paltrow’s family at Deer Valley Resort on the day of the collision. He said he was monitoring much of the mountain during the exact moment Sanderson and Paltrow collided and did not see the moment of impact, but saw what happened immediately before and after.
In testimony that went into ski technique instruction, Christiansen said Paltrow was making «short radius turns» while Sanderson was skiing the groomed run «edge to edge» and «quite dynamically.»
He said he remembered Paltrow landing on top of Sanderson because he reached over and took her skis, then his own.
«I think you told me once that if a football player rips someone’s legs off, they’re under,» Paltrow’s attorney, Steve Owens, said as he asked questions about the accident.
Paltrow’s lawyers plan to testify to a list of medical experts who are expected to undermine the testimony of neurologists, radiologists and psychologists hired by Sanderson’s team.
The trial also addressed the habits and hobbies of wealthy individuals like Sanderson and Paltrow, as well as the power and burden of celebrity. The amount of money at stake for both parties pales in comparison to the typical legal costs of a multi-year lawsuit, expert witnesses, a private security detail, and high-resolution animation.
Much of the questioning during the first five days of the trial has revolved around Sanderson’s motivation for suing Paltrow. His lawyers have argued that the lawsuit is an attempt by an «obsessed» man to exploit the wealth and celebrity of the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer. Sanderson’s lawyers tried to paint Paltrow as a happy-go-lucky movie star who hurt an aging man and is unwilling to take responsibility for the consequences.
“No one believed how serious my injuries were,” said Sanderson, who enjoyed wine tasting and international travel before the accident. «There were a lot of insults added to that singular incident.»