Mark Geragos: Gwyneth Paltrow’s legal team had a stronger defense in court
Defense attorney Mark Geragos on the latest from the Gwyneth Paltrow case over an alleged skiing hit-and-run
Gwyneth Paltrow testified she thought she was being sexually assaulted when a skier rammed into her back during a 2016 trip to Deer Valley Resort.
The Goop founder described the moment she claims retired optometrist Terry Sanderson collided with her and how she was "extremely upset."
"I was confused at first, and I didn’t know exactly what was happening. It’s a very strange thing to be happening on a ski slope," she recalled. "I froze, and I would say I got very upset a couple seconds later."
Gwyneth Paltrow took the stand Friday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
GWYNETH PALTROW TAKES THE STAND AFTER ACCUSER'S DAUGHTER BREAKS DOWN IN TEARS DURING TESTIMONY
Gwyneth Paltrow enters the courtroom for her trial, Friday, March 24. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Paltrow explained why she initially thought she might have been getting sexually assaulted during questioning by Sanderson's lawyer.
"So that was a quick thought that went through my head when I was trying to reconcile what was happening," Paltrow explained. "Two skis came between my skis forcing my legs apart and then a body pressed against me.
"My brain was trying to make sense of what is happening," she added. "I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?’ My mind was going very, very quickly, and my mind was trying to ascertain what happened."
Paltrow noted it felt like they were "spooning" when the two fell to the ground. She also emphasized that she's not claiming she was sexually assaulted, that's just "what went through [her] mind when it happened."
Terry Sanderson has attended the trial throughout the week. (Rick Bowmer)
Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court next to her lawyer, Steve Owens. (Jeff Swinger)
Paltrow adamantly declared that Sanderson skied directly into her back during her roughly two hours on the stand.
She also claimed the only eyewitness' account of what happened is not true.
"What he said, is not what happened," she told a lawyer for Sanderson.
Later she stated, "Mr. Sanderson hit me."
The jury will also hear from Paltrow's husband Brad Falchuk and her children – Apple, 18 and Moses, 16 – most likely on Monday. Sanderson will also take the stand the same day as the plaintiff's lawyers prepare to rest his case.
Paltrow, 50, has been sued for $300,000 by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who claims the actress skied into him from behind and left him severely injured at Utah's Deer Valley Resort in 2016.
Before Paltrow took the stand, Sanderson's daughter, Shae Hareth, testified about her father's changes in behavior following the ski collision.
She claimed he gets easily distracted and recalled an "awful experience" that damaged Sanderson's relationship with his granddaughter.
Shae Herath, the daughter of Terry Sanderson, testified in court Friday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
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Paltrow and Sanderson are in a legal fight over a 2016 ski collision that left the retired optometrist severely injured, according to a 2019 lawsuit. Much of the testimony so far comes from doctors speaking on Sanderson's medical condition prior to and following the collision.
Sanderson accused the Goop founder of skiing off after the accident, which left him with a "permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life," along with emotional distress and disfigurement, according to the lawsuit.
Sanderson originally sued the actress, Deer Valley Resort and an instructor for $3.1 million and claimed he was a victim of a hit-and-run. A judge dismissed the claim, and Deer Valley Resort and the instructor were removed from the lawsuit.
The ski slopes at Utah's Deer Valley Resort. (Getty Images)
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Paltrow has maintained that Sanderson actually skied into her and claims she stuck around until given the OK to leave by a Deer Valley Resort ski instructor. The 50-year-old actress also said in her countersuit that Sanderson previously admitted he didn't have a clear memory of the accident.
The actress is seeking attorneys' fees and $1.
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