Gwyneth Paltrow awarded $1 after winning court case against man who said she crashed into him on ski slopes

30 March 2023, 23:48 | Updated: 31 March 2023, 16:51

Terry Sanderson sued Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000 after a ski collision in 2016
Terry Sanderson sued Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000 after a ski collision in 2016. Picture: Alamy
Kieran Kelly

By Kieran Kelly

Gwyneth Paltrow has been awarded one dollar after winning a high-profile civil court case against a man who says she crashed into him while skiing.

Jurors found that the Oscar-winning actress was not at fault for the collision, which left Terry Sanderson 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.

Gwyneth Paltrow wins US lawsuit over 2016 skiing collision in Utah

Gwyneth Paltrow has been awarded $1
Gwyneth Paltrow has been awarded $1. Picture: Alamy

Following eight days of evidence and just over two hours of deliberation, jurors returned a verdict in favour of Ms Paltrow on Thursday.

She was awarded compensatory damages of one dollar.

Read More: Gwyneth Paltrow says she 'lost half a day of skiing' in bizarre court testimony over horror crash

Read More: 'Is someone doing something perverted?': Gwyneth Paltrow says she feared ski collision was a sexual assault

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".

Terry Sanderson
Terry Sanderson. Picture: Alamy

"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.

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Breaking
WhatsApp Icon on a Smartphone

WhatsApp goes down for thousands as users unable to send or receive messages

Chithra Vanmeeganathan died in crash involving a No 395 single-decker bus, a car, and other pedestrians.

Pictured: Woman, 46, who died in horror London bus crash

The Gaza documentary has already been pulled from iPlayer

Counter-terror police 'assessing' BBC's controversial Gaza documentary

England's Jos Buttler, who has announced he will step down as England's white-ball captain after Saturday's clash with South Africa

Jos Buttler steps down as captain of England’s white-ball cricket team after Champions Trophy exit

Attackers broke into a man's home on Lipson Road, Plymouth, before covering him in acid in a savage assault.

Man doused in acid after savage attackers break into his Plymouth home - as thugs still at large

Gene Hackman with Betsy Arakawa

Chilling 911 call reveals moment distressed caretaker discovers Gene Hackman and wife's body

A police officer holding a suspect in handcuffs.  Focus on the hand and cuffs

25 arrested as part of global crackdown on AI-generated child sex abuse images

Omar Wilson, 31, repeatedly punched and kicked Mussie Imnetu outside a restaurant in west London last summer.

'Monster' who beat 'defenceless' top chef to death during Notting Hill Carnival jailed for 18 years

Riot police officers take cover from molotov cocktails thrown by demonstrators as clashes break out during a rally as part of a general strike called by unions to mark the second anniversary of the country's worst rail tragedy

Protesters throw petrol bombs and police hit back with tear gas as demonstration in Greece descends into violence

Actor Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa in June 1993. (AP Photo)

Everything we know so far about the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa

Heston Blumenthal

TV chef Heston Blumenthal says wife sectioning him was 'best thing' to happen - as he opens up about bipolar diagnosis

Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Nationwide and First Direct customers are all suffering issues

Major bank apps including Lloyds, Halifax and Nationwide go down sparking payday chaos

Exclusive
Wes Streeting has said the BBC is in a 'terrible mess' over the Gaza documentary

BBC is in 'a terrible mess', says Streeting - as TV bosses apologise for for 'serious flaws' in Gaza documentary

Chef Claudia Lawrence vanished in 2009 in North Yorkshire

Dogwalker 'saw' rucksack of missing chef Claudia Lawrence in tree stump - in bombshell new claim

Rescuers searching for the two missing Russian scuba divers at Verde Island

Tourist found dead with arm ripped off after shark attack - as another diver drowns after losing scuba group

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa

Gene Hackman's wife found 'part-mummified' and 'surrounded by pills' as mystery of reclusive couple's deaths grows