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Jury finds Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault in the ski crash trial

Paltrow and a retired optometrist faced off in court after he alleged the Goop founder recklessly crashed into him while skiing, leaving him with several injuries.
/ Source: TODAY

A Utah jury found Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for a 2016 ski incident on March 30.

The verdict comes after a very public trial that captured the minds of Americans who became fascinated with both Paltrow's off-the-cuff remarks on the stand and her outfits.

As the verdict was read, Paltrow sighed and looked down at her hands clasped on the table. She maintained a serious expression as the judge verified the verdicts with each jury, only smiling as everyone was dismissed.

Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, sued Paltrow for $300,000 after he said she ran into him while skiing in 2016, leaving him with broken ribs, a concussion and brain trauma.

Paltrow maintained her innocence throughout the proceedings. She countersued Sanderson for $1 and attorney fees — alleging that it was, in fact, the other way around and he had run into her.

The jury found that Sanderson was at fault in the crash.

Their dispute has sparked a debate in the skiing community surrounding the rules of the mountain — especially around the rule that whomever is farther down on the ski run has the right of way. Both sides have disputed who was higher up the the hill at the time of the crash.

Sanderson’s acquaintance, Craig Ramon, testified during the trial that he witnessed the crash. He said he saw Paltrow "slam" into Sanderson, curse, and then leave the scene about 4 minutes later while Sanderson was still on the ground.

Paltrow testified that she had been skiing "gently" when Sanderson hit her from behind. She said she felt a body press into her back and saw two skis slide between hers.

She said she swore and felt violated, initially thinking the crash might be a sexual assault.

“There was a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise,” she said.

She testified that she "lost half a day of skiing" following the incident and her children and now-husband, who ate lunch with her that day echoed that in their testimony. Paltrow was "shaken" by the incident, her daughter Apple, now 18 but 12 at the time, said and bowed out of skiing the rest of the day citing a sore knee.

Sanderson, now 76, claimed his cognitive functions declined after the incident and negatively impacted his life and relationships. Paltrow's attorneys alleged Sanderson's decline was due to preexisting medical conditions and aging.

Paltrow issued a statement following the verdict celebrating the jury's decision:

“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity. I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.”