The outcome of Gwyneth Paltrow's ski-collision civil lawsuit may depend on the testimony from the only witness, a skiing instructor.
Opening statements for the trial begin on Tuesday, with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson suing Paltrow for damages. The 76-year-old said that Paltrow skied into him with a "full body hit," leaving him with substantial injuries.
Sanderson was initially seeking $3.1 million in damages, but that has since been lowered to $300,000 as the courts will decide who is to blame. Paltrow has countersued for a symbolic $1 and the cost of her own legal fees.
The incident occurred on a beginner's course known as the Bandana Run at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah on February 26, 2016.
While Sanderson says Paltrow skied into him, she has said that she was hit from behind, causing her minor injuries. In Utah, the law states that the skier who is lower down has the right of way, and that it is the person behind's responsibility to avoid a collision.
According to Law & Crime, Sanderson said he was left with "permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement." This was the result of Paltrow allegedly slamming into him.
According to Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida and former member of the Florida State Senate, there was only one witness to this incident. And this man, a ski instructor who arrived on the scene afterwards, "didn't even see everything," Aronberg told Court TV. The ski instructor then allegedly also blamed the plaintiff in this case, Sanderson, for causing the collision.
Laying out the facts of the case as claimed by Sanderson, Aronberg said that "you have to believe that Gwyneth Paltrow skied down this bunny slope, ran into this guy, who had severe injuries, left him in the snow eventually to die, right? And I chuckle about it because it's hard to fathom that."
Aronberg explained that, according to the rules of the Deer Valley Resort, you have to stay around after a collision and give information, which Paltrow said she did. Aronberg added that "it's going to be hard" for Sanderson to win his case against Paltrow.
Attorney Andrew Lieb, managing partner of Lieb at Law, says he's "astounded" that the lawsuit is going to trial.
"It's astounding that the Gwyneth Paltrow skiing lawsuit is going to trial because generally sports activities are insulated from suit by a legal doctrine called assumption of risk, which is actually codified in Utah as UT ST § 78B-4-401," Lieb told Newsweek. "This doctrine means that every sports participant assumes the normal risks inherent in the sport by participation and can only sue for injuries that are not part of the normal process of the sport."
While there are often cases where skiers sue resorts for negligence, Lieb said "there are rarely suits from a collision between two skiers."
Lieb said Sanderson's claim could prove successful if his accusations that a "false report was filed" and that the resort failed "to provide aid" were found to be true.
"In all, the question in this case is if Paltrow and her co-defendants (a ski instructor, the resort, and two other resort employees) breached their duty to exercise reasonable care with respect to the inherent risks of skiing," he said. "It's a high burden to meet, but it's not impossible, especially if [Sanderson] is able to prove his claim that she left the scene of the crash and more."
Sanderson's $3.1 million lawsuit against Paltrow was first filed in 2019. At a press conference held that January, Sanderson said that Paltrow was "distracted" and moving "out of control" at the time of the crash.
"I've skied for over 30 years. I've never knocked anybody down and hurt 'em. I've never been knocked down or got hurt. I think this is kind of a unique situation and especially when it was unkind to leave me there," Sanderson said at a press conference, per The Deseret News. He added that, after being hit by Paltrow, he lay unconscious in the snow for five to 10 minutes.
The case gets underway on Tuesday at the Third Judicial District Court in Park City, Utah.
Update 03/21/2023 10:28 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from attorney Andrew Lieb.
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