Gwyneth Paltrow is set to take the stand in a civil case regarding a 2016 ski accident, a source confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Paltrow has been sued for $300,000 by a retired optometrist, who claims the actress skied into him from behind at the Deer Valley resort.
Terry Sanderson accused the Goop founder of skiing off after the accident – which left him with a “permanent traumatic brain injury, 4 broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life,” along with emotional distress and disfigurement, according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured,” according to the complaint, which was filed in 2019. “A Deer Valley ski instructor, who had been training Ms. Paltrow, but who did not see the crash, skied over, saw the injured Sanderson and skied off, falsely accusing Sanderson of having caused the crash.”
Gwyneth Paltrow has been sued by a man who claims the actress skied into him from behind causing severe injuries in 2016 on the slopes at Deer Valley Resort. (Getty Images)
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Terry Sanderson filed the lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow in 2019. (Getty Images)
A judge dismissed Sanderson’s original claim of hit-and-run, and the Deer Valley Resort and instructor were removed from the lawsuit.
Paltrow has maintained that Sanderson actually skied into her, and claims she stuck around until given the OK to leave by the Deer Valley Resort ski instructor. The 50-year-old actress also said Sanderson previously admitted he didn’t have a clear memory of the accident.
Retired doctor Terry Sanderson during a hearing at 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City on Jan. 29, 2019. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
She has filed a countersuit, asking for $1 in symbolic damages, and her attorney’s fees to be covered.
Paltow’s trial will begin on March 21.
Deer Valley Resort’s safety policies instruct skiers to “stop at the scene and render reasonable assistance” if involved in a collision on the slopes. The law requires skiers who have experienced a collision to give their name and permanent address to a resort employee before leaving the scene, according to Deer Valley Resort.
Other suggestions include notifying resort personnel and helping keep other skiers away from the area of incident.
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Gwyneth Paltrow, pictured in Austria, was accused of skiing off after the incident. (Getty Images)
A legal expert explained what a jury would have to decide in order for a judge to rule that Paltrow was negligent in the 2016 accident.
“It’s actually really fuzzy. It just means that a person did not use reasonable care,” attorney Tyler Brown of the firm Nuttall, Brown and Coutts told Fox News Digital. “We all have a duty to use reasonable care to avoid injuring others. And it’s defined really simply as what would a reasonably careful person do in a similar situation.”
Brown, who has handled ski accident lawsuits in the past but is not involved in Paltrow’s current lawsuit, noted that these negligence cases are typically situational.
“Ordinary circumstances don’t necessarily require extraordinary caution. Skiing is kind of a pretty ordinary recreational activity,” he explained. “So, it’s not like because they were skiing, they have this extremely heightened duty of care, but it might involve a little bit more care than just a regular situation.”
When bringing a civil lawsuit, the plaintiff has the burden of proof. Sanderson’s legal team will likely have a hard time convincing a jury that Paltrow was in the wrong, according to Brown.
“The person who’s asserting this claim is going to have their work cut out for them, because… they have to establish and convince a jury that she really was acting unreasonably,” he said. “And that’s going to be really hard to do if it’s unclear about what even happened.”
Gwyneth Paltrow has claimed that Terry Sanderson hit her from behind while skiing in 2016. (Getty Images)
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The burden of proof doesn’t end there. Sanderson is also responsible for proving the ski accident directly caused his injuries.
“They have to prove that they suffered harm. They have to prove the legitimacy of their medical claims, the amount of their medical bills, any lost wages because of missing work,” Brown explained. “And they have to prove that these injuries were actually caused by this accident and not a preexisting condition or caused by, you know, maybe they went home and slipped on the ice in the parking lot.”
As for why this case is going to trial, Paltrow might be looking to repair her reputation, according to celebrity lawyer Duncan Levin.
“It takes two to settle, and we don’t really know who is pushing this to trial, but based on everything we know, Paltrow is well within her rights to fight this all the way to the end,” the attorney, who has represented Harvey Weinstein, Clare Bronfman and Anna Delvey, among others, told Fox News Digital.
Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow will take the stand, a source told Fox News Digital. (Stefanie Keenan)
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Gwyneth Paltrow might be working to repair her reputation by taking the stand in the ski accident civil case. (Getty Images)
“For Paltrow, this is not about the money, which she has plenty of. It’s about repairing her reputation and fending off someone who she believes to be bringing a false claim to get at her deep pockets,” he added. “She’s far more focused on the court of public opinion than the one in Utah.”
Levin, who is not currently representing Paltrow, noted that it isn’t always about a settlement for celebrities.
“High-profile defendants often rightly care more about vindication and fending off frivolous lawsuits than quickly settling what they believe to be a meritless case.”
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