Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow found herself in a Utah courtroom Tuesday, in a civil trial stemming from a 2016 skiing accident.
Paltrow is being sued by Dr. Terry Sanderson, who claims Paltrow collided with him on the slopes of the Deer Valley Resort in February of 2016, and then skiied away from the scene.
According to ABC News affiliate WTVX, Sanderson claims Paltrow was “skiing out of control and too fast for her ability” when she allegedly struck him. His attorneys claim he suffered four broken ribs, a brain injury and other injuries in the collision.
Sanderson also claimed resort employees filed a false report claiming he was at fault, and failed to contact medical personnel at the time.
However, Paltrow claimed she was the one who was struck by Sanderson, whom she says apologized and said he was OK. The actress countersued the retired optometrist in 2019.
Her countersuit reads, in part, “Three years after a ski collision, Plaintiff [Sanderson] threw a press conference to assert that Gwyneth Paltrow had struck him…He demanded Ms. Paltrow pay him millions. If she did not pay, she would face negative publicity resulting from his allegations.”
Further, Paltrow’s suit adds, “Plaintiff admits he does not remember what happened. Ms. Paltrow remembers what happened very clearly,” and further states that Paltrow received a “full body blow” from Sanderson from behind while she was skiing “slowly” because her family was below her getting skiing lessons.
Court documents show Sanderson was initially seeking more than $3 million in damages, but that has been amended to $300,000, according to WTVX. Paltrow’s countersuit seeks just $1, plus attorney fees.
The civil trial is expected to last eight days.
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