Gwyneth Paltrow testifies in ski collision trial

By Elise Hammond, Matt Meyer and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 8:31 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

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7:52 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Gwyneth Paltrow testified in her civil trial Friday. Here's what she said about the 2016 ski collision

From CNN staff

Gwyneth Paltrow testified Friday in a civil trial stemming from a 2016 skiing accident at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.

Terry Sanderson has accused the actress and Goop founder of crashing into him and causing him serious injuries while they were both skiing — a lawsuit that Paltrow testified that she thinks is unfair, saying she didn't cause the accident.

She filed a countersuit against Sanderson claiming that he skied into her.

Here's what she said on the stand:

A family trip: Paltrow was skiing with her two kids as well as with Brad Falchuk – who was her boyfriend at the time, now her husband – and his two kids. Each child had their own ski instructor, she said. They had been to Deer Valley Resort, where the collision happened, twice before, she said, and the incident with Sanderson happened on the first day of their trip.
How she described what happened: Paltrow testified that two skis came in between her skis, forcing her legs apart and then "there was a body pressing against me and there was a very strange grunting noise" from behind. She described the collision as being a slow fall and that when they both came crashing down together, their skis were tangled up.
Sanderson's condition: Paltrow said she did not ask about the condition of Sanderson after they collided, testifying that she did not know the extent of his injuries and "thought it was very minor on the day." Sanderson claims that Paltrow hit him causing a brain injury and four broken ribs.
After the collision: Paltrow said the incident was "absolutely not" a hit-and-run. Sanderson claims Paltrow and her ski instructor skied away after the incident without getting him medical care. She testified that she stayed on the mountain "long enough for him to say that he was OK" and to stand up.
Risky behavior: She says she wasn't engaged in "risky behavior" at the time of the crash. She said she wouldn't ski in a risky way "with my children there or without my children there."
Legal questions: Sanderson's legal team tried to use previous media appearances in which Paltrow discussed being clumsy to discredit her testimony, but the judge ultimately would not allow it. It had apparently renewed a debate between the two sides, which the judge had already considered, on whether Sanderson's lawyers could raise the interviews in an effort to discredit Paltrow's testimony.

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8:29 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Testimony has ended for the day in civil trial involving Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow finished her testimony Friday in the civil trial stemming from a 2016 skiing accident in Park City, Utah.

The trial concluded at 5:01 p.m. local time (7:01 p.m. ET). It will resume on Monday.

Terry Sanderson, 76, has accused the actress and businesswoman of crashing into him and causing him serious injuries while they were both skiing on a Utah mountain.

Paltrow filed a countersuit against Sanderson, a retired optometrist, claiming that he skied into her.

7:34 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Paltrow says she remembers crash clearly and did not suffer memory loss in collision

Gwyneth Paltrow said she "absolutely" remembers clearly the events of her 2016 collision on the ski slopes with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson.

"You know what occurred, right?" asked Steve Owens, the actress' attorney.

"I absolutely do," Paltrow replied. "I was there."

"When they say, 'Did anyone witness this?' and 'Mr. Sanderson doesn't really remember things,' — you remember things don't you?" Owens asked.

"I do," the actress said again.

She further answered that she wasn't knocked out by the collision and that she hadn't suffered memory loss.

Some context: Sanderson has accused Paltrow of crashing into him and causing him lasting injuries, including brain damage.

In the court documents originally filed by Sanderson and obtained by CNN in 2019, Sanderson stated that while skiing at Deer Valley Resort, Paltrow allegedly “skied out of control … knocking him down hard, knocking him out."

CNN's Lisa Respers France and Alli Rosenbloom contributed to this report.

6:54 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Paltrow denies that collision was a hit-and-run and says she did stick around afterward

Gwyneth Paltrow responded Friday – when asked about the collision at Deer Valley Resort in 2016 – that it was "absolutely not" a hit-and-run.

When asked if she stayed on the mountain for a while after the crash with Terry Sanderson, Paltrow said, "I did indeed.”

Earlier in her testimony, Paltrow said she stayed on the mountain "long enough for him to say that he was OK" and to stand up.

In the court documents originally filed by Sanderson and obtained by CNN in 2019, Sanderson claims that Paltrow hit him causing a brain injury and four broken ribs.

Sanderson also claims Paltrow and her ski instructor skied away after the incident without getting him medical care.

6:50 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Taylor Swift came up during questioning. Here's what Paltrow had to say

Attorney Kristin VanOrman from Terry Sanderson's team asked if the $1 that Gwyneth Paltrow is seeking in damages was inspired by a 2017 case involving singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

VanOrman asked Paltrow whether or not the damages she was seeking was symbolic, to which Paltrow answered: "It's symbolic because the damages would actually be more."

Van Orman then suggested Paltrow was seeking that amount, based on a similar gesture by Swift. The pop star won a lawsuit in 2017 against radio host David Mueller, who she had said groped her at a meet-and-greet event in June 2013. Mueller was required to pay $1 in damages.

But Paltrow said Friday that she had not been aware of Swift's case at the time.

"Are you good friends with Taylor Swift," VanOrman asked. Paltrow answered, "No."

"I would not say we're good friends," Paltrow said. "We are friendly. I've taken my kids to one of her concerts before, but we don't talk very often."

6:46 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Lawyers for the skier suing Paltrow wanted to use talk show comments from the actress about her clumsiness

Terry Sanderson's legal team tried to use previous media appearances in which actress Gwyneth Paltrow discussed being clumsy to discredit her testimony, but the judge ultimately would not allow it.

"Would you agree that you are accident-prone?" attorney Kristin VanOrman asked Paltrow, at which point the judge and the two legal teams paused for a bench meeting.

It had apparently renewed a debate between the two sides, which the judge had already considered, on whether Sanderson's lawyers could raise the interviews in an effort to discredit Paltrow's testimony.

"Let's say she's clumsy, there's been no testimony that clumsiness in any way contributed to the accident," the judge told VanOrman, as they discussed the issue again in court.

VanOrman said it was relevant because Paltrow has been asked multiple times under oath whether she is accident-prone and said she wasn't. But, the attorney claimed, Paltrow "has admitted a number of times that she is (accident-prone)."

Therefore "this is all impeachment evidence," VanOrman said, referring to the legal process of undermining a witness' credibility.

The interviews in question: VanOrman said her team had submitted evidence of Paltrow's self-professed clumsiness, including several articles and a video.

In that clip, the attorney said, "Ms. Paltrow went on (late night show) 'Jimmy Kimmel,' saying: 'Yes, I am accident-prone, I am always running into things.'"

"We believe that's exactly what she did, is she ran into things, like she always does," VanOrman said.

Paltrow's team responded, expressing frustration and saying the opposing legal team had already made this case to the judge and had their request to use the articles and video rejected.

Ultimately, the judge said Sanderson's team had not sufficiently proven Paltrow's clumsiness played a role in the crash, and said the argument would not be considered.

6:27 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

"I feel very sorry for him." Paltrow testifies that she has empathy for man involved in collision

Gwyneth Paltrow said she does feel empathy for Terry Sanderson, the man she collided with on a ski slope in 2016.

“I feel very sorry for him. 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," she testified.

Asked by her lawyer if she caused tension between Sanderson's family members that his daughter testified about earlier in the day, Paltrow said, “I did not cause that.”

She also testified that she did not give Sanderson brain injuries that showed up on an MRI in 2006.

6:22 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Paltrow says she thinks lawsuit against her is unfair

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow said that she feels it is unfair that Terry Sanderson is suing her over a 2016 ski crash.

Sanderson has accused Paltrow of colliding with him and breaking four of his ribs and causing a traumatic brain injury with lasting effects.

Paltrow has filed a countersuit, claiming Sanderson crashed into her.

On the stand Friday, Paltrow confirmed that she is bringing the counterclaim for $1.

During a line of questioning from Sanderson's lawyer, she said this is mostly symbolic because the amount of damages would be much more.

Paltrow talked about losing half of a day skiing because of the collision when she paid for a full-day pass.

6:13 p.m. ET, March 24, 2023

Paltrow says she did not ask about the condition of Terry Sanderson after the collision

Gwyneth Paltrow testifies during her trial on Friday, March 24, in Park City, Utah. (Rick Bowmer/Pool/AP)

Gwyneth Paltrow said she did not ask about the condition of Terry Sanderson after they collided while skiing in Utah in 2016.

"I think you have to keep in mind when you're the victim of a crash, right, your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it," Paltrow testified.

When asked if she asked anyone at Deer Valley Resort, where the crash happened, if he was hurt, Paltrow said, “I did not because at the time I did not know that he had sustained injuries like that. I thought it was very minor on the day.”

She said she stayed on the mountain "long enough for him to say that he was OK" and to stand up. Paltrow testified that she could not tell if Sanderson was unsteady.