Gwyneth Paltrow in court as trial over 2016 ski collision begins

By Lisa Respers France and Chloe Melas, CNN

The trial over a 2016 skiing accident involving Gwyneth Paltrow began on Tuesday.

The actress and businesswoman was present in the Park City, Utah, courtroom as a jury was seated and opening statements began in the case. Terry Sanderson, 76, has accused Paltrow of crashing into him and causing him serious injuries while they were both skiing on a Utah mountain in February of 2016.

In the court documents originally filed by Sanderson and obtained by CNN in 2019, Sanderson stated that while skiing at Deer Valley Resort, Paltrow allegedly “skied out of control … knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, and four broken ribs and other serious injuries.”

Sanderson also claims Paltrow and her ski instructor skied away after the incident without getting him medical care.

Paltrow filed a countersuit against Sanderson, a retired optometrist, claiming that he skied into her.

According to Paltrow’s countersuit, she “was enjoying skiing with her family on vacation in Utah, when Plaintiff — who was uphill from Ms. Paltrow — plowed into her back. She sustained a full ‘body blow.’ Ms. Paltrow was angry with Plaintiff, and said so. Plaintiff apologized. She was shaken and upset, and quit skiing for the day even though it was still morning.”

Sanderson had initially sued Paltrow for $3.1 million dollars, but later amended his complaint and is now seeking more than $300,000 in damages, according to court documents.

Paltrow is seeking $1 in damages, plus attorneys’ fees.

The judge offered instructions Tuesday to the eight-person jury and the attorneys for each side introduced themselves to the court before opening statements by one of Sanderson’s lawyers, Lawrence Buhler, followed by Paltrow’s attorney, Steve Owens.

Owens reiterated Paltrow’s claim that she was downhill from Sanderson before the collision took place.

The trial is expected to last about one week. It is not yet known if Paltrow will take the stand, but her attorney told the jury they would hear from family members who were skiing with her at the time of the incident.

CNN has contacted a representative for Paltrow for comment.

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