A jury found Thursday that Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist, was “100 percent” at fault in the collision that happened Feb. 26, 2016, at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. The two-week trial ended with less than three hours of deliberations, and Paltrow, 50, was awarded $1 in damages plus legal fees.
The Oscar winner says in a statement shared on her Instagram Story, “I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity.”
“I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case,” says Paltrow.
Sanderson’s attorney C. Peter Sorensen said in a statement, “We are disappointed in the outcome, but we love and support the legal process. We thank Judge Holmberg, the jury and staff for all their efforts. We will spend the next while evaluating and discussing where we go from here.”
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The trial verdict came after more than seven days of testimony from people like Paltrow herself, as well as plaintiff Sanderson, two of his daughters, plus eyewitnesses to the immediate aftermath of the collision.
Paltrow testified that she “absolutely froze” during the incident, then became upset when she knew what happened and screamed at Sanderson using profanity. “Yes I did. I apologize for my bad language,” she told the jury.
“I said, ‘You skied directly into my F-ing back,’ and he said, ‘Oh, sorry, sorry, I’m sorry,’ " she added. “I was pretty upset.”
“I think you have to keep in mind when you’re the victim of a crash your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it … I thought it was very minor on the day,” she said, noting she “stuck around long enough for [Sanderson] to say he was okay.”
Sanderson testified, “I realized, after a period of time, that no one believed how serious my injuries were.” When it came time for her lawyers to ask her questions, Paltrow said on the stand that she felt “very sorry” for Sanderson. “It seems like he’s had a very difficult life. But I did not cause the accident, so I cannot be at fault for anything that subsequently happened to him.”
source: people.com
