Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys questioned the daughter of a man suing the actress-turned-lifestyle influencer over a 2016 ski accident about missing GoPro camera footage, which they described as “the most important piece of evidence” at Thursday’s trial.
Paltrow’s attorney, Steve Owens, questioned one of the man’s daughters, Polly Grasham, about emails she exchanged with her father about the mysterious footage and the possibility that the lawsuit was filed against Paltrow because of her celebrity.
The GoPro footage was never discovered or used as evidence in the trial.
“I’m well-known… How much will it cost?” Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist who is suing Paltrow, wrote in the subject line of an email to his family following the crash.
Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000 in damages, claiming she crashed into him on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort seven years ago, breaking his ribs and leaving him with a concussion. Paltrow has sued Sanderson for $1 million in damages and attorney fees.
Sanderson’s daughter and a neuropsychologist testified about his declining health on the third day of the trial, bringing the trial to a more personal level.
Sanderson’s attorneys attempted to persuade jurors that the collision had altered the course of his life, leaving him brain-impaired and harming his relationships with loved ones.
Paltrow’s lawyers questioned whether Grasham and neuropsychologist Dr. Alina Fong could say with certainty that Sanderson’s decline was not caused by aging or pre-crash conditions. They questioned Grasham about her father’s anger issues, divorces, and estrangement from another of his daughters, who is not testifying at the trial.
Paltrow has previously described the lawsuit as an attempt to capitalize on her fame and celebrity. On Thursday, Owens, her lead counsel, questioned Grasham about her father’s newfound celebrity.
The email “matches his personality a little bit, making light of a serious situation,” Grasham said.
Owens questioned Sanderson’s “obsession” with the case and whether he thought it was “cool” to collide with a celebrity like Paltrow, the Oscar-winning actress from “Shakespeare in Love” and the founder-CEO of the wellness company Goop.
Sanderson is scheduled to testify about the crash’s long-term consequences on Friday. He has not been present in court as his doctors and experts have described his health issues.
When the eight-day trial resumes on Friday or early next week, Paltrow could be called to testify.
So far, the proceedings have touched on topics ranging from skier etiquette to the power – and burden – of celebrity. The amount of money at stake for both parties is insignificant when compared to the typical legal costs of a multiyear lawsuit, private security detail, and expert witness-heavy trial. According to Sanderson’s attorney, this trial is about “value, not cost.”
During the first two days of the trial, attorneys argued about whether Sanderson or Paltrow was further down the slope at the time of the collision, a disagreement rooted in a “Skiers Responsibility Code” that gives the downhill skier the right of way. Sanderson’s attorneys and expert medical witnesses described how his injuries were most likely caused by a rear-end collision. They attributed Sanderson’s noticeable changes in mental acuity to injuries sustained that day.
Paltrow’s lawyers have attempted to portray Sanderson as a 76-year-old whose decline was the result of natural aging rather than the result of a car accident. They have not yet called their own witnesses to testify, but in their opening statements, they indicated that they intend to call Paltrow’s husband, Brad Falchuk, and her two children, Moses and Apple, to the stand next week.
Although ski collisions are not uncommon in general, the majority of accidents occur when a skier collides with a tree or another type of inanimate object or obstacle. Incidents involving a skier colliding with another skier are less common. During the 2021-2022 ski season, the National Ski Areas Association recorded 57 fatal collisions, the majority of which involved skiers colliding with trees. According to the NSAA, 95% of all skiers killed in those incidents were men, and 54 “catastrophic” incidents occurred during the same season.
This case and its eventual outcome are dependent on whether Paltrow or Sanderson acted in an unreasonable manner while skiing in Deer Valley that day, and if so, who. According to Roger Cohn, a personal injury attorney at Kohn Roth Law, negligence is a central issue in the debate.
“When one skier collides with another, the issue is one of negligence. Did they make a mistake?” Cohn went on to say, “The uphill skier must keep an eye out for the downhill skier. If you are overtaking someone and hit them, you are most likely liable and at fault.”
His analysis aligns with the NSAA’s responsibility code, which applies to ski resorts throughout North America. The code states that “People ahead of you on the downhill have the right of way. You must stay away from them.” Skiers must also “always stay in control” and be able to stop when necessary to avoid other people, according to the rules.
