My faith in juries may be restored after a jury in Utah found that Terry Sanderson—the man who accused Gwyneth Paltrow of mowing him down on a ski slope in Utah and ruining his life— was 100% at fault for his own injuries. This may have seemed like a frivolous trial that dragged out for six days longer than it should have, but in reality it was an important exercise in justice. Should celebrities be targets for easy payouts by people who were negligent in their own injuries? The clear answer is no.
I didn’t go into this trial with any opinion other than having some dislike for Paltrow, but I tried not to let my opinion of her color the facts of the case. The facts were on her side. Sanderson claimed to have suffered a traumatic brain injury after the collision on Deer Mountain seven years ago. But since then, Sanderson traveled the world a few times in opposition to his claims of not being able to enjoy his life anymore. Not only that, but expert testimony showed that his medical records showed no signs of brain injury and in fact showed normal degeneration that comes with age and possibly dementia. They also testified that a brain injury would not get degeneratively worse but would improve over time. Sanderson claims his life has been on a constant downward spiral since the day he ran into Paltrow. Every single bad thing that has happened to him in the last seven years he weirdly blames on the movie star.
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But if you threw out all the paid expert testimony and only took the testimonies of the people on the hill that day, the facts were largely in Paltrow’s favor. Reasonable people would see that Deer Valley employees had no reason to lie about the events. Two of them saw Sanderson uphill of Paltrow. That’s all the evidence anyone should need to know who hit whom. If Sanderson hit Paltrow, his case is a loser.
But the other evidence presented came from Sanderson’s own medical records, which showed a man with severe underlying conditions that should have precluded him from skiing at all! Sanderson was blind in one eye from a stroke, suffered from an injured knee from another skiing accident, was hard of hearing, and had a fragile skull. This is not someone who should have been taking risks like speeding down an icy hill at high speeds.
Public opinion of Paltrow shifted dramatically during the trial. In the beginning, most people watching the live stream on Law & Crime and Court TV had made up their minds that Paltrow should pay (whether she was guilty or not). But by today, the audience’s opinion had shifted far into Paltrow’s camp, voting at 76% or higher in her favor on live chat polls. Most likely, it was this excellent grilling by attorney Steve Owens that tipped the scales. After listening to days of Sanderson’s family members trying to convince everyone that he was a shell of a man, we learned that he traveled the world doing things that not even I would attempt at 46 like zip lining and white water rafting! So much for a life of an injured cripple.
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The best thing to come out of this trial, however, is Paltrow’s young attorney James Egan, who looks like Clark Kent. We discovered he has several albums–and if you like Billy Joel or Ben Folds Five, you’ll love him. None of us are sure why he’s a lawyer instead of a musical star, but maybe that will all change now. I can’t say I’m not a little disappointed that Egan didn’t wheel a piano into the courtroom and sing his closing remarks. (He may want to try that someday soon. It would for sure wake the jury up, at least!)
During the verdict reading, Paltrow looked overwhelmed and near tears. On her way out of the courtroom, she whispered something in the ear of Sanderson that he later told reporters was “I wish you the best.” Paltrow only asked for $1 in her countersuit and was awarded it. It was clear to me from the outset that a person of her notoriety would only consent to this public embarrassment out of a commitment to the truth. Most wealthy people would have just paid him off to make the sheer nuisance of it go away.
My opinion of Paltrow has been elevated as a result of this trial. She was shown to be someone who cares deeply about the truth, her family, her reputation, and even Sanderson himself. But she also showed she is not an easy mark, and I doubt anyone will try to take advantage of her again.
Watch the verdict here:
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