Gwyneth’s $1 ski crash victory as she says: I wish you well

GWYNETH PALTROW emerged victorious from her ski crash trial stating that she had to fight the $3 million compensation claim to “stand up for what’s right”.

After the verdict, the Oscar winner, 50, told retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, left, who had sued for damages: “I wish you well.” Every moment of the 2016 collision at the Deer Valley resort in Utah was raked over in detail during the eight-day, televised trial. The jury found that Mr Sanderson was “100 per cent” responsible for the crash in which he suffered several broken ribs and severe head injuries.

The jury awarded Paltrow symbolic damages of $1 while Mr Sanderson, 76, now faces paying her legal bill. In a statement afterwards, the star praised the hard work and “thoughtfulness” of the judge and jury and said she was “pleased with the outcome”. “I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity.”

Her lawyer Stephen Owens added: “Gwyneth has a history of standing up for what’s right and this situation is no different. She will continue to stand up for what’s right.” Mr Sanderson had sued

Paltrow for $3 million in Park City, Utah, claiming his life had been turned upside down by the crash and that it had left him living like a “recluse”.

The actress, who has starred in films including Avengers Assemble, Shakespeare in Love and Seven, said she felt “very sorry” for Mr Sanderson’s medical decline but insisted that she was not the one to blame. During the trial Paltrow said the collision had cost her “half a day of skiing” with her family and left her feeling sore and in need of a massage. After the verdict, Paltrow let out a long breath and went over to Mr Sanderson. Outside court, he said Paltrow had told him “I wish you well” and he had simply replied: “Thank you dear.” He expressed disappointment telling reporters: “You get some assumed credibility in being a famous person. ‘Who wants to take on a celebrity? Someone who learns lines and how to play someone else’s part’.” Asked if it was worth bringing the case, he replied: “Absolutely not — I’m going to be on the internet forever.” In closing arguments yesterday, Mr Owens said Paltrow faced a “ransom” for a “meritless claim”

and suggested she had been used as a “punching bag” during a civil trial with the world watching. “Mr Sanderson’s life has been laid open — that’s because of him. He hit her. He hurt her and he wants $3 million for it,” he said.

“That’s not fair. The easy thing for my client would have been to write a cheque and be done with it — but what does that tell her kids? It’s wrong, it’s actually wrong that he hurt her and he wants money from her.”

Paltrow had been accused of letting out a “blood-curdling scream” prior to the crash, and Mr Sanderson admitted once comparing her with King Kong.

In her evidence, she insisted it was Mr Sanderson who had skied into her in an incident she initially feared was a sexual assault. He claimed to have become a “self-imposed recluse” due to his crash injuries but that was undermined on the final day of the case by Facebook photographs showing him skiing again, hiking and holidaying around the world.