The case relates to a skiing accident in 2016 with both parties claiming to have caused the accident.
Months after actors Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s sensational tryst had the world glued to their phones, another soap opera-like trial for the Hollywood actor made headlines. Within a week, the case featured startling inconsistencies and emotional testimonies about a 2016 skiing accident involving Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow.
Here’s what’s happened in the case so far:
The case concerned a 2016 skiing accident in which both parties, Ms. Paltrow and 76-year-old Terry Sanderson, claimed the other caused the accident. Mr. Sanderson claims he suffered permanent brain injury and four broken ribs from the accident, and is suing Paltrow for $300,000.
Terry Sanderson claims to have suffered permanent brain injury and four broken ribs as a result of the accident.
For a “token” $1, attorneys’ fees that can run into the thousands of dollars, Gwyneth Paltrow is suing Sanderson. Paltrow was questioned in court whether she was a “good friend of Taylor Swift” and if the damages she was seeking were inspired by a 2017 sexual assault case involving Swift where she sought $1 in damages.
When asked whether or not the damages she was seeking were symbolic, Paltrow admitted that they were. “It’s symbolic because in reality the damages would be greater,” she said, before adding that his lawsuit was “an attempt to exploit her fame and fortune.”
On the second day of the trial, a camera was placed directly in front of Ms. Paltrow and her lawyer, which was found to be in violation of court ethics. The judge said, “I consider this to be a violation, and have asked to tell the reporter that this is now interrupting our proceedings. If it happens again, the reporter will be asked to leave.”
In her account of the incident, Ms. Paltrow said she initially thought she had been sexually assaulted, adding that she felt like she was “tripping” when the two fell to the ground.
Paltrow’s courtroom style was a focal point of the trial, with many outfits incorporating pieces of her own label.
Sanderson and his attorneys offered an alternative narrative, claiming that the Goop founder “got out of control.” Paltrow denied that she ever engaged in “risky behaviour” in a ski race she said she was once familiar with.
After an eyewitness was brought in with a different account of the accident than Mrs. Paltrow, she questioned the accuracy of the witness and insisted that she was the one who was injured.
In a tearful affidavit, Mr Sanderson’s daughter claimed the accident caused her father’s “character change” and cited an exchange between him and his granddaughter in which he “belittled” her while trying to close the car door.
Aside from the various testimonies and heated exchanges, Ms. Paltrow’s courtroom style was a focal point of the trial, with many outfits featuring pieces of her own label. The $250 blue leather notebook she used to hide her face from the cameras also made headlines.
Paltrow used a $250 blue leather notebook to hide her face from the cameras.
The proceedings are due to resume on Monday, and Mr Sanderson is due to testify. Ms. Paltrow’s team is also expected to bring in medical experts, ski instructors and her two children, Moses, 16, and Abel, 18.
