PARK CITY, Utah — When you ski at almost any resort in the U.S., you have to follow a "responsibility code." One of those points is: people ahead of you have the right of way.
In a trial taking place this week in Park City, a Utah doctor named Terry Sanderson is suing actress and celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000 for allegedly hitting him on the slopes at Deer Valley in 2016. However, Paltrow's defense attorney claimed in court Tuesday that Sanderson was the one who crashed into the actress.
“It's two different versions," said Clayton Simms, a Utah attorney. "One person is saying, 'No, you ran into me.' The other person is saying, 'No, you ran into me.' It's like, who ran the red light?"
Simms has been following the trial closely, he said.
“I think it's more about just defending herself and saying, 'I'm not goign to be an easy target just because I'm a celebrity,'" said Simms.
Sanderson says Paltrow skied out of control, knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries, according to court documents. However, the injuries can't prove Paltrow is guilty, said Simms.
“If you're injured, that doesn't tell us who ran into who," he said. He could have injured himself by running into Gwyneth Paltrow. "Skiing is inherently dangerous. Maybe we don't know who's right and who's in the wrong, but if it's not obvious, we're not going to award you a judgment against Gwyneth Paltrow. I do think she's going to win.”
The jury trial is supposed to run over a week.
