(NEXSTAR) – A jury unanimously decided that Gwyneth Paltrow was not to blame for an alleged skiing accident that occurred in 2016, but that it was rather the fault of Terry Sanderson, the doctor who took the Academy Award-winning actor to court.
The jury also awarded Paltrow $1 — the amount she sought in a countersuit against Sanderson, whom she alleged had crashed into her on the day of the 2016 accident at a Utah ski resort.
The two remained silent during the jury’s decision, though Paltrow, while leaving the courtroom, could be seen leaning over Sanderson’s shoulder and saying something into his ear.
“I wish you well,” she whispered, Sanderson later told reporters outside the courthouse, the Associated Press reported.
He said he responded back, “Thank you, dear."
An attorney for Sanderson had initially filed a complaint in 2019 alleging that Paltrow crashed into his client on Feb 26, 2016, at Deer Valley Resort in Park City. He has claimed the crash resulted in broken ribs and a brain injury, among other injuries and emotional distress. Paltrow, however, has maintained that she was not at fault, but rather that Sanderson had slammed into her, delivering a “full body blow.”
In response to Sanderson’s lawsuit, which initially sought total damages of over $3 million before a judge decided he wasn’t eligible to sue for punitive damages, Paltrow filed a countersuit seeking damages of only $1 — a symbolic amount — and attorneys’ fees.
The jury’s verdict on Thursday did not include any discussion of the attorneys’ fees Paltrow was seeking. A judge in Park City will ultimately decide what to award, the Associated Press reported.
Thursday’s verdict also ended a legal ordeal that the actor’s lawyer has previously called “utter B.S,” and that Paltrow suggested could have called her character into question.
“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” she wrote in an Instagram story published after the verdict. “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.”
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