PARK CITY, Utah (AP) 鈥 Gwyneth Paltrow wasn鈥檛 to blame for a 2016 collision with a retired optometrist on a beginner run at a posh Utah ski resort during a family vacation, a jury decided Thursday following a live-streamed trial that became a pop culture fixation.
A jury awarded Paltrow $1 鈥 a symbolic amount she asked for in order to show it wasn鈥檛 about money 鈥 and delivered her the vindication she sought when she opted to take it to trial rather than settle out of court.
鈥淚 felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,鈥 Paltrow said in a statement released by her representatives that she also posted as an Instagram story for her 8.3 million followers. She also thanked the judge and jury for their work.
As Paltrow left court she touched Terry Sanderson鈥檚 shoulder and told him, 鈥淚 wish you well,鈥 he told reporters outside court. He responded, 鈥淭hank you dear.鈥
Paltrow's attorney, Steve Owens, added in a statement he read outside court that 鈥淕wyneth has a history of advocating for what she believes in 鈥 this situation was no different and she will continue to stand up for what is right.鈥
Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury鈥檚 verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case last year.
After the verdict was read, the judge polled the jury, which was unanimous on the decision. In civil court in Utah, only three-fourths of jurors need to agree on a verdict. The attorney fees Paltrow asked for in her countersuit were not included in the jury鈥檚 verdict, leaving the bulk of the final award for the Park City judge to decide.
Addressing reporters after the verdict, Sanderson questioned whether the lawsuit was worth it and said he believed that people tend to naturally trust celebrities like Paltrow.
鈥淵ou get some assumed credibility from being a famous person," Sanderson said. "Really, who wants to take on a celebrity?鈥
The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow鈥檚 attorneys described the complaint against her as 鈥渦tter B.S.鈥 and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to due to her celebrity.
Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to wasn鈥檛 her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt 鈥渁 body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise.鈥
Throughout the trial, the word 鈥 as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.
Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson鈥檚 motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client鈥檚 reputations.
The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998鈥檚 鈥淪liding Doors,鈥 at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in 鈥淪hakespeare in Love鈥 and the 鈥淚ron Man鈥 movies.
The jury鈥檚 decision marks a painful court defeat for Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than $300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on the ski slope at Deer Valley Resort.
鈥淗e never returned home that night as the same man. Terry has tried to get off that mountain but he鈥檚 really still there,鈥 attorney Robert Sykes said during closing arguments.
Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.
He filed an amended complaint after an earlier $3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. In response, Paltrow countersued for $1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift鈥檚 response to a radio host鈥檚 defamation lawsuit. in 2017.
Paltrow鈥檚 defense team represented Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become 鈥渙bsessed鈥 with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn鈥檛 at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.
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AP writer Anna Furman contributed from Los Angeles.
