Gwyneth Paltrow whispers 'I wish you well' to man she beat in high-profile court case over skiing collision
31 March 2023, 07:56
Gwyneth Paltrow was seen leaning down and whispering "I wish you well" to the man she defeated in a legal dispute over a skiing collision as she left the courtroom.
Ms Paltrow was awarded one dollar after winning the high-profile civil court case against Terry Sanderson, who said she crashed into him while skiing.
Jurors found that the Oscar-winning actress was not at fault for the collision, which left the optometrist with several broken ribs and head injuries.
Ms Paltrow had denied the claim, and accused Mr Sanderson of crashing into her, resulting in her losing "half a day of skiing" with her family.
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Following eight days of evidence and just over two hours of deliberation, jurors returned a verdict in favour of Ms Paltrow on Thursday, finding that Mr Sanderson was "100% to blame" for the collision.
She was awarded compensatory damages of a single dollar, but Mr Sanderson, 76, will have to cover both of their legal costs.
As she left the court on Thursday, the Shakespeare in Love actress leaned down and touched her opponent's shoulder to give him her good wishes.
He appeared to thank her in response.
Read More: Gwyneth Paltrow says she 'lost half a day of skiing' in bizarre court testimony over horror crash
Ms Paltrow previously said she felt "very sorry" for Mr Sanderson's health decline following the collision, but said she had not been "at fault" and said was the "victim".
During the trial, Ms Paltrow said she initially thought she was being sexually assaulted during the collision, which took place in Deer Valley, after feeling "a body pressing against me" and hearing "a strange grunting noise".
"I was confused at first and I didn't know exactly what was happening," Ms Paltrow said.
"It's a very strange thing to happen on a ski slope. I froze and I would say I got very upset a couple of seconds later.
She added: "[I thought] is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?... my mind was going very quickly and trying to ascertain what was happening."
Ms Paltrow previously said she felt "very sorry" for his health decline following the incident, but maintained she had not been "at fault" and said she had been the "victim".
During closing arguments earlier on Thursday the court heard that Ms Paltrow faced a "ransom" for a "meritless claim", and that she had shown "courage" by attending court for the two-week trial.
Stephen Owens, representing Ms Paltrow, said the actress had sat in court for two weeks as a "punching bag" and had been "uncomfortable" during proceedings.
"It takes a lot of courage does it not?" he told the jury in his own closing argument.
"(Mr Sanderson's) life has been laid open - that's because of him. He hit her. He hurt her and he wants three million dollars for it.
"That's not fair. The easy thing for my client would have been to write a cheque and be done with it - but what does that tell her kids?
"It's wrong, it's actually wrong that he hurt her and he wants money from her." He added: "This is a meritless claim.
"You don't throw a three-million-dollar bombshell in the courtroom, call her (Gwyneth Paltrow) King Kong, and walk away. You shouldn't reward that.
"Gwyneth, who could have just paid it out, paid the ransom, (said) 'no I'm not doing that. I'm not going to have someone hurt me and then ask me for a lot of money. I'm not going to do it'."
In their closing arguments, Mr Sanderson's lawyers had said Ms Paltrow was "not a liar" but had been mistaken about what had happened.
Robert Sykes told jurors that the actress's views on the collision were "sincerely expressed" but incorrect. "Gwyneth is a good person. She is a good mother and she loves her children and she is passionate about things," he said.
