Gwyneth Paltrow had a simple message for Terry Sanderson — the retired optometrist who sued the actor for $300,000, alleging that she crashed into him on a ski slope — as she exited the courtroom following her not at fault verdict.
“I wish you well,” Paltrow, 50, told Sanderson, 76.
The jury took just over two hours on March 30 to find Sanderson was at fault in the crash at the center of the trial, and awarded Paltrow $1 in what she has called "symbolic damages."
Sanderson told reporters that his response to Paltrow was "Thank you, dear."
The eight-day trial centered around a 2016 incident at Deer Valley Ski Resort in Park City, Utah, in which Sanderson and Paltrow disputed who crashed into whom on the slopes.
Sanderson sued Paltrow for $300,000, alleging that she ran into him and knocked him out, "causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries," according to court documents.
Paltrow has denied his allegations and argued in a counterclaim he ran into her and sued her in "an attempt to exploit her celebrity and wealth."
Jurors found Sanderson was 100% at fault in the crash, and that his fault was the cause of Paltrow's harm, awarding her $1. Paltrow looked down at her hands clasped on the table as the verdict was read, and only smiled when the courtroom was dismissed.
Paltrow thanked the jury in a statement after the verdict was read.
"I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity," she said. "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."
Craig Ramon, Sanderson's acquaintance and the sole eyewitness of the crash, testified in court on March 21 that Paltrow hit Sanderson "hard" and bounced off of him.
"We were skiing down the run and I heard this, this scream and I looked over and about one or two seconds ... I hear this scream and I see this skier slam into the back of Terry," Ramon said.
Sanderson testified his cognitive function declined after the incident, which negatively impacted his life and relationships. Paltrow's lawyers argued his decline was due to aging and preexisting medical conditions.
Paltrow testified she had been skiing "gently" down the hill with her children nearby when Sanderson hit her from behind.
"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," she said.
Paltrow said she lost "half a day of skiing" after she decided she wasn't going to ski for the rest of the day after eating lunch with her children.
Apple Martin, Paltrow's daughter, said in a deposition read aloud during the trial that her mom "was in a state of shock" at lunch.
"I noticed she looked a bit shocked, and I asked what had happened, and she said, 'This A-hole ran into me. He ran right into my back.' And I remember she did this motion saying he ran into her back and they both went down. I remember that’s what she said," Apple said.
