TOM LEONARD reflects on explosive start to Gwyneth Paltrow's £245,000 ... trends now
A sunny morning on the slopes of the exclusive Deer Valley ski resort, and perfect conditions to enjoy Utah's famous powder snow.
Yet as Terry Sanderson and his friends cruised down the beginner's run 'Bandana' on that February day in 2016, the tranquillity of one of America's smartest destinations was rudely shattered by a 'hysterical scream' that sounded like 'King Kong came out of the jungle'.
It was, he claims, Gwyneth Paltrow descending the same green run on skis and proving almost as devastating as Kong as she lost control and ploughed into 69-year-old Mr Sanderson, hitting him so hard from behind it left him with broken ribs and permanent brain damage – claims she denies.
After seven years of furious legal claim and counter-claim, during which dozens of motions have been filed, the events of that day are being replayed in a court in Park City, Utah, where the Oscar-winner and star of Iron Man and Shakespeare In Love stands trial in a case that started yesterday.
She faces a $300,000 (£245,000) negligence lawsuit brought by Mr Sanderson, now 76. Both sides have accused the other of being at fault in the collision and both were in court yesterday for a trial expected to last eight days.
Gwyneth Paltrow on day one of her eight-day trial in which she faces a £245,000 negligence lawsuit
Terry Sanderson (pictured) claims Ms Paltrow crashed into him so far from behind it left him with broken ribs and permanent brain damage – which she denies
Ms Paltrow, looking solemn, shielded her face as she entered and left the courtroom and appeared to clutch her jumper nervously as she listened to the evidence. Her lawyer told the court that not only Ms Paltrow but her husband, Brad Falchuk, and children, Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, are set to testify in a case that, if it goes against her, could severely tarnish her public image.
A judge ruled last year that Mr Sanderson, a retired optometrist who initially demanded $3.1million in damages, couldn't justify calling it a 'hit-and-run' ski crash.
However, he was allowed to pursue his claim that Ms Paltrow negligently crashed into him, hitting him – he claimed – 'harder than I've ever been hit'. His lawsuit seeks compensation for 'permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement'. He has also accused 50-year-old Ms Paltrow of having 'accepted no responsibility' for her role in the incident.
His lawyer Lawrence Buhler told the court yesterday that the actress 'bolted' down the mountain after the collision.
He also claimed that Ms Paltrow hadn't been paying attention at the time as she was watching her children ski. Mr Buhler said one of her children had called to her: 'Mummy, mummy, watch us ski!'
He said: 'The children and their two instructors ski to the left. Ms Paltrow skis down to the right, she turns her head up to look at her children. As she turns her head back down she screams and skis into the back of Terry Sanderson.'
The lawyer added: 'Distracted skiers cause crashes. Defendant Gwyneth Paltrow ...knew that if she continued to ski that way, if she kept looking up to the side, someone would get seriously hurt. She knew what she was doing was dangerous and she knew it was reckless.'
He also claimed that Ms Paltrow, whose family group included four instructors, spent 'thousands of dollars a day' on tuition for her children, which allowed the family to skip lift queues.
'Ms Paltrow has been skiing since she was three years old, she considers herself an intermediate skier. She has skied about a half a dozen times at Deer Valley ski resort,' he told the court.
Ms Paltrow has filed a countersuit claiming Mr Sanderson, who has vision and hearing loss as a result of a previous stroke, was the one who caused the collision, hitting her from behind and causing her to sustain a 'full body blow'.
Paltrow in a social media post the year before the accident at Deer Valley resort in Utah. She captioned the post: '20 years later and I still got it #justlikeridingabike'
Her lawyer, Stephen Owens, said yesterday that Mr Sanderson had been making wide turns across the slope and had his back turned when he hit her,
