Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash trial could be decided as soon as this afternoon, with final arguments being presented to the court before the jury is sent out to deliberate.
Terry Sanderson’s attorney Robert Sykes kicked off closing arguments gushing about the actress and told the jury she ‘is not a liar’ and neither is his client, but ‘based on the evidence, she is wrong and Terry is correct.’
‘She’s not a liar and it’s a sincere belief,’ Sykes said. ‘But a sincere belief doesn’t make it so. You have to make a decision based on the evidence you have heard.’
The denouement follows an extraordinary day yesterday in court during which Sanderson, the retired optometrist, 76, compared Paltrow, 50, to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and was confronted with a stash of photos showing him on vacation in Peru and Morocco after the 2016 crash.
Sanderson sued the Goop guru in 2019 – three years after a ski-slope pile-up that he says left him with four broken ribs and permanent brain injuries.
Paltrow arrived early for the final day of trial at the Park City District Court dressed in a stealth-luxe navy coat, $278 Rayban aviator sunglasses, brown pants and matching chunky boots
Terry Sanderson, 76, who was forced to swap ties Wednesday after showing up in a happy face printed neckwear, opted for a more low key choice for the final day of court
Paltrow’s attorneys are expected to continue their two-pronged approach, both arguing that the actress didn’t cause the accident and that its effects aren’t as bad as Sanderson claims
While dad-of-three Sanderson says the actress skied into him while emitting what he described as ‘the best hysterical scream you’ve ever heard’, Paltrow says he crashed into her – causing her to lose half a day of skiing.
During closing arguments on Thursday, his attorney Sykes addressed the jury and thanked them for their service.
Noting the case had been a ‘long, long’ one and thanking the jury for not ‘nodding off’ during what was at times dull testimony, Sykes said the jurors had three questions to answer.
He said: ‘There are three questions. Who hit who? Did it cause any damage? What about the damages?
‘Gwyneth Paltrow is not a liar. Terry Sanderson is not a liar. She’s a good mother, she loves her children. I think Gwyneth Paltrow believes it when she says Terry hit her in the back.
‘She’s not a liar and it’s a sincere belief. But a sincere belief doesn’t make it so. You have to make a decision based on the evidence you have heard.’
Terry Sanderson’s attorney Robert Sykes kicked off closing arguments gushing about the actress and said she ‘is not a liar’ but added that his client Sanderson is also not a liar
Paltrow arrives for court after a break as closing arguments were about to begin
Sykes continued: ‘So often, people who are in these types of events hold a different viewpoint. We have nothing against Gwyneth’s viewpoint but based on the evidence, she is wrong and Terry is correct.’
He said it was unlikely that Sanderson, an advanced skier, had been doing wide turns on a beginner run as there would be too many people.
Then, speaking about ‘the scream that has been heard around the world’, he told jurors – ‘that was Gwyneth Paltrow.’
He told the court the Goop guru had been distracted and looking at her children, who had been shouting ‘mommy, mommy, look at me’ according to testimony from Apple’s ski instructor Keri Oaks.
Sykes then showed extract from Paltrow’s deposition to jurors in which she said: ‘I can watch my children ski and still be skied directly into my back by someone which is what happened.’
He also referred to star witness Craig Ramon, who had previously testified in court.
Sykes said that Ramon, who had been due to return to the stand but didn’t after time ran out, had no reason to make up his account of the crash or falsify anything
Sykes said that Ramon, who had been due to return to the stand but didn’t after time ran out, had no reason to make up his account of the crash or falsify anything
Sykes said Sanderson had suffered the social, emotional and physical consequences of the smash for months afterwards and insisted that medical records bore that out
The attorney, who has repeatedly referred to himself as ‘a simple country lawyer’ throughout, went on to talk about the injuries Sanderson suffered – including broken ribs – and said the Deer Valley ski area and instructor Eric Christiansen had been complicit ‘in a cover-up’.
He described Christiansen’s post crash comment to Ramon that ‘your buddy took out Gwyneth Paltrow’ as ‘odd’ and said that’s the only reason his client knows Paltrow is involved.
Sykes said the extent of Sanderson’s head injury was clear from the start, when he was unable to ski after the crash and instead attempted to snow plow down the hill.
He said Sanderson had suffered the social, emotional and physical consequences of the smash for months afterwards and insisted that medical records bore that out.
Sanderson’s former girlfriend Carlene Davidson, and daughters Shae Herath and Polly Grasham’s testimony was also raised with Sykes telling jurors their testimony was evidence of the dramatic changes in the retiree’s personality.
The lawyer also emphasized expert testimony that Sanderson was not faking his injuries or ‘malingering’ in any way, and angrily pointed out that the defense inference he is suffering from dementia has been shown not to be true.
He concluded: ‘He never came home that night as the same Terry. Part of Terry will forever be on the Bandana run. He spent hours and hours trying to get better.
He is almost extreme in trying to get better. We hope you will help bring Terry home off that mountain today.’
This photo shows the ski run at Deer Valley Resort where the crash happened in 2016
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’
Court got off to a farcical start earlier on Thursday with Sanderson’s legal team struggling to get Dr Richard Boehme on Zoom and then, after switching to phone audio, losing him within the first few seconds.
Two attempts to call the expert back resulted in the call going to voicemail before he was finally patched into court on the third attempt.
Dr Boehme, a neurologist, previously testified for Sanderson and said the only way the retiree could have acquired four broken ribs was for Paltrow to hit him and then land on him.
Despite objections from Paltrow’s lawyer Stephen Owens who complained to Judge Kent Holmberg about the time the tech issues were taking up, Dr Boehme was allowed to testify and doubled down on his previous comments.
Describing the impact of Paltrow landing on Sanderson as a ‘traumatic event’, Dr Boehme said the retiree’s rib fractures were the direct result of the actress skiing into him.
Referring to Newton’s Law, he said: ‘Something had to fall on top of him to cause those ribs to fracture in an otherwise healthy male. Any human weighing greater than 100lbs falling on Mr Sanderson would qualify as a traumatic event.
‘The only other way he could have broken ribs, if you consider him striking Miss Paltrow from behind, you would have to create a rotational force. For him to ski into Miss Paltrow, he would have to rotate 180 degrees and hit the ground within half a second.
‘In order for her to rotate around with Mr Sanderson, he has to grab her and they have to fall in a twisted fashion with her landing on top of her.’
Dr Boehme added: ‘Had the rib fractures not occurred, no one would be able to do this analysis, period. And that’s all I have to say about it.’
Dr Richard Boehme, a neurologist, previously testified for Sanderson and said the only way the retiree could have acquired four broken ribs was for Paltrow to hit him and then land on him
Referring to Newton’s Law and showing equations, he said: ‘Something had to fall on top of him to cause those ribs to fracture in an otherwise healthy male’
In another bizarre moment, Dr Boehme joked with Paltrow’s lawyer Egan, telling him he was in a hurry for cross-examination to end so he could make a lunch ‘because I’m on vacation’
A restless crowd in the gallery look on as testimony continues before closing arguments
In another bizarre moment, Dr Boehme joked with Paltrow’s lawyer James Egan, telling him he was in a hurry for cross-examination to end so he could make a planned lunch ‘because I’m on vacation.’
Sanderson suffered a setback at the end of Dr Boehme’s testimony when Egan asked the expert if he knew the retiree said he he had gone ‘airborne’ when Paltrow hit him.
Asked by Sanderson’s lawyer Lawrence Buhler if it was possible, Dr Boehme replied: ‘No – the person who hit would have had to have been going 50 or 60mph and that is highly unlikely.’
Earlier Thursday, both Sanderson and Paltrow arrived early for the final day of the trial at the Park City District Court in Park City, Utah, with the Goop boss dressed in a stealth-luxe navy coat, $278 Rayban aviator sunglasses, brown pants and matching chunky boots.
Sanderson, who was forced to swap ties Wednesday after showing up in a happy face printed neckwear, opted for a more low key choice for the final day of court.
Other witnesses for Sanderson are expected to take the stand – one being Craig Ramon, 48 – his friend and the only person to see the crash.
Sanderson testified Friday that he had continued to pursue damages seven years after the accident because the cascading events that followed – his post-concussion symptoms and the accusation that he sued to exploit Paltrow’s celebrity – added insult to injury.
Yesterday, court heard from a string of medical experts called by the defense, all of whom said Sanderson’s brain trauma was unlikely to have been caused by the 2016 crash.
Paltrow’s ski crash trial could be decided as soon as this afternoon, with final arguments set to be made this morning before the jury is sent out to deliberate
Sanderson’s attorneys are expected to begin on Thursday morning by recalling their medical experts to rebut claims made by Paltrow’s
Terry Sanderson, 76, who is suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a ski crash, arrived at the Park City courtroom on Wednesday wearing a brightly-colored tie with garish smiley faces on it, but later swapped it out for one with a more subtle print, as he prepared to take the witness stand
Neurologist Dr Robert Hoesch told court Sanderson’s symptoms – which include confusion and personality changes – are not due to the ski crash but underlying conditions
Dr Angela Eastvold, a neuropsychologist and concussion expert who has reviewed Sanderson’s medical history, said she does not believe Sanderson suffered anything more than a mild concussion and any continuing symptoms can be explained by other conditions
One, neurologist Dr Robert Hoesch, even told jurors that Sanderson’s symptoms were the result of the court battle itself, saying: ‘My job is to help the patient and family gain acceptance that this mild event seven years ago isn’t causing all these problems that he’s having now.
He added: ‘Suing somebody, going through a trial, a trial that has national recognition, can bring on a lot of anxiety and if you’re prone to that, it’s going to make it worse and it’s going to slow your recovery.‘
But the most dramatic moment of the day came at the end when Sanderson took the stand himself, only to be confronted by a stack of photos of himself on vacation after the crash – a time period in which he says he was crippled by debilitating post-concussive syndrome and had become a ‘recluse’.
Rattling off a string of destinations, Paltrow’s attorney Stephen Owens showed the court photos of the 76-year-old riding a camel in Morocco, at Machu Picchu in Peru and attending an auto-show in Frankfurt.
In bizarre testimony on Wednesday, Sanderson compared Paltrow to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after he said she needed to to be held ‘accountable’ for the crash
Paltrow gives a stunned look at Sanderson before looking over at her attorney who called the testimony ‘ridiculous.’ The judge then told the jury to disregard Sanderson’s words
In cross examination, Sanderson compared Paltrow to Epstein when asked if he regretted pursuing the lawsuit, leaving Owens furious and calling it ‘ridiculous testimony’ while the actress looked stunned.
Sanderson said: ‘Well that’s the purpose, I think. It’s to make me regret this lawsuit and that’s the pain of suing a celebrity. It’s just very difficult. I will tell everyone, you’re gonna get exposed.’
In a reference to Epstein’s infamous Caribbean island, he added: ‘This is obviously an issue that someone needs to be accountable for and if they’re never accountable, what are they going to do?
‘They’re going to do it again. Now we have the molesting of children on an island.’
A flabbergasted Paltrow looked over at her attorney who called Sanderson’s testimony ‘ridiculous.’ The judge then told the jury to disregard Sanderson’s words.
Along with Sanderson, the court has previously heard from Paltrow as well as her two children with Coldplay singer Chris Martin.
Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, said their mother had been left ‘frantic’ by the crash and was forced to stop skiing after the accident – instead taking herself to the spa at Deer Valley’s Montage hotel for a massage.
Apple said: ‘This A-hole ran into me. He ran right into my back… [She] was clearly visibly upset and she had a little bit of pain… that’s why she went to the spa to get a massage.’
While Apple (left) and her Moses Martin (right) were ‘ready, willing and able’ to testify in person, their mother’s lawyers opted to have transcripts of their depositions read aloud
Paltrow’s account of the collision with Terry Sanderson was shown in an animated reconstruction as the defense claims he was actually the one who hit the actress from behind
Among the most bombshell testimony has been from Paltrow and Sanderson. On Friday members of the jury were riveted when Paltrow said on the stand that she initially thought she was being ‘violated’ when the collision began.
Three days later Sanderson gave an entirely different account, saying she ran into him and sent him ‘absolutely flying.’
The trial has also shone a spotlight on Park City, known primarily as a ski resort that welcomes celebrities like Paltrow for each year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Local residents have increasingly filled the courtroom gallery throughout the trial. They’ve nodded along as lawyers and witnesses have referenced local landmarks like Montage Deer Valley, the ski-side hotel-spa where Paltrow got a massage after the collision.
At times they have appeared captivated by Paltrow’s reactions to the proceedings, while at others they have mirrored the jury, whose endurance has been tested by hours of jargon-dense medical testimony.
