Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyer asks about missing GoPro video

Mar 22, 2023, 10:10 PM | Updated: Mar 23, 2023, 5:18 pm

Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court, Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow is accused of...

Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court, Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow is accused of injuring another skier, leaving him with a concussion and four broken ribs. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, Pool)

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys asked the daughter of a man suing the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer over a 2016 ski collision about missing GoPro camera footage that they called “the most important piece of evidence” at trial Thursday.

Steve Owens, Paltrow’s attorney, asked one of the man’s daughters, Polly Grasham, about emails exchanged with her father about the mysterious footage and the possibility that the lawsuit was filed against Paltrow because she was famous.

The GoPro footage has not been found or included as evidence for the trial.

“I’m famous … At what cost?” Terry Sanderson, the 76-year-old retired optometrist suing Paltrow, wrote in the subject line of an email to his family after the crash.

Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000 in damages, claiming that she skied recklessly into him on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort seven years ago, breaking his ribs and leaving him with a concussion. Paltrow has claimed Sanderson caused the crash and countersued for $1 and attorney fees.

The trial took on an increasingly personal note on the third day of proceedings when Sanderson’s daughter and a neuropsychologist testified about his declining health.

Sanderson’s attorneys tried to persuade jurors that the collision had changed the course of their client’s life, leaving him brain-impaired and damaging his relationships with loved ones.

Paltrow’s attorneys questioned whether Grasham and neuropsychologist Dr. Alina Fong could say with certainty that Sanderson’s downturn wasn’t a result of aging or documented, pre-crash conditions. They questioned Grasham about her father’s anger problems, divorces and estranged relationship with another of his daughters, who is not testifying at trial.

Paltrow has previously called the lawsuit an attempt to exploit her fame and celebrity. On Thursday, Owens, her lead counsel, asked Grasham why her father sent messages about his newfound fame.

“It matches his personality a little bit, making light of a serious situation,” Grasham said of the email.

Owens probed Sanderson’s “obsession” with the case and whether he thought it was “cool” to collide with a celebrity like Paltrow, the Oscar-winning star of “Shakespeare in Love” and founder-CEO of the wellness company, Goop.

Sanderson is expected to testify Friday about the lasting effects of the crash. He has not been present in the courtroom while his doctors and experts have detailed his health problems.

Paltrow could be called to testify on Friday or early next week, when the eight-day trial continues.

The proceedings thus far have touched on themes ranging from skier’s etiquette to the power — and burden — of celebrity. The amount of money at stake for both sides pales in comparison to the typical legal costs of a multiyear lawsuit, private security detail and expert witness-heavy trial. Sanderson’s attorney told the jury Thursday that this trial is about “value, not cost.”

The first two days of trial featured attorneys arguing about whether Sanderson or Paltrow was further down the slope during the collision — a disagreement rooted in a “Skiers Responsibility Code” that gives the skier who is downhill the right of way. Sanderson’s attorneys and expert medical witnesses described how his injuries were likely caused by someone crashing into him from behind. They attributed noticeable changes in Sanderson’s mental acuity to injuries from that day.

Paltrow’s attorneys have tried to represent Sanderson as a 76-year-old whose decline followed a normal course of aging rather than the results of a crash. They have not yet called witnesses of their own to testify, but in opening statements previewed for jurors that they plan to call Paltrow’s husband Brad Falchuk and her two children, Moses and Apple, to the stand next week.

__

Associated Press writer Anna Furman contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

United States News

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

Associated Press

Biden, GOP reach tentative deal to raise debt ceiling, avoid calamitous US default

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” late Saturday as they raced to strike a deal to limit federal spending and resolve the looming debt crisis, the House speaker said.

19 hours ago

Associated Press

Timeline of events leading to the impeachment of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A timeline of events that have led to three-term Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, 60, being impeached Saturday. The vote by the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives also means Paxton is immediately suspended from office. 2015 Paxton takes office as attorney general after more than a decade in the Texas […]

19 hours ago

This undated photo provided by the Grand Forks County Correctional Center shows Steve Shand. Shand,...

Associated Press

Florida man at center of fatal human smuggling case pleads not guilty in Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Florida man charged with human smuggling after four migrants were found dead last year near the Canadian border has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. Court records show that Steve Shand, of Deltona, Florida, entered the plea Friday in a hearing for his arraignment held via video conference. […]

19 hours ago

FILE - This June 14, 2018 file photo provided by the Indianapolis Police Department shows Indianapo...

Associated Press

Man charged with killing Indianapolis police officer seeking insanity defense

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A man charged with fatally shooting an Indianapolis police officer when she responded to a domestic violence call in 2020 is seeking an insanity defense as he seeks to avoid the death penalty. Attorneys for Elliahs Dorsey filed a motion with the court Wednesday saying a report prepared by a doctor states […]

19 hours ago

FILE - Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trum...

Associated Press

Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger celebrates 100th birthday, still active in global affairs

Former diplomat and presidential advisor Henry Kissinger marks his 100th birthday on Saturday, outlasting many of his political contemporaries who guided the United States through one of its most tumultuous periods including the presidency of Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War. Born in Germany on May 27, 1923, Kissinger remains known for his key role […]

19 hours ago

Associated Press

Baby eels remain one of America’s most valuable fish after strong year in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fishermen in the U.S.’s only commercial-scale fishing industry for valuable baby eels once again had a productive season searching for the tiny fish. Baby eels, called elvers, are often worth more than $2,000 per pound because of how valuable they are to Asian aquaculture companies. That makes them one of the […]

19 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

(Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona Photo)...

Desert Institute for Spine Care in Arizona

5 common causes for chronic neck pain

Neck pain can debilitate one’s daily routine, yet 80% of people experience it in their lives and 20%-50% deal with it annually.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyer asks about missing GoPro video