US actress Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in Utah in the western United States on Tuesday, where she is being sued in a civil lawsuit by a man who alleges she injured him in a car accident while skiing seven years ago.
• Also read: $3.1 million lawsuit against Gwyneth Paltrow for hit and run on skis
• Also read: Ski accident: Gwyneth Paltrow considers her trial to be unjustified
The attorney for Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist, said at the opening of the trial that his client had suffered damages estimated at more than $3 million.
The actress, who won an Oscar in 1999 for her role in Shakespeare in Love, has filed a complaint.
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His attorney Steven Owens said Tuesday in Park City court that Terry Sanderson was “obsessed” with the complaint and that the case was based on “false allegations.”
The collision happened in February 2016 in Deer Valley, an upscale resort town in the Rocky Mountains above Park City, a tourist town that hosts the Sundance Film Festival.
According to the plaintiff, Gwyneth Paltrow ran him over “dangerously” while skiing, causing him “four broken ribs and permanent brain damage” before fleeing, leaving him unconscious.
On the contrary, the actress claims it was Terry Sanderson who punched her in the back. Her lawyer asserts that she “wasn’t fast” and that she was frightened when Mr. Sanderson came up behind her.
“It shook her and hurt her physically,” he claimed.
When her attorney filed a complaint based on “bullshit,” Ms. Paltrow sat in a white turtleneck. She is expected to comment later.
AFP
According to Mr Owens, her husband Brad Falchuk and children Apple and Moses are also scheduled to speak.
Gwyneth Paltrow notably starred in the film Seven (1995), where she shared the poster with Brad Pitt, who became her significant other.
After winning an Oscar and marrying British singer Chris Martin, leader of the Coldplay group, she was drawn away from the sets, returning in 2008’s hit saga Iron Man.
She’s also dabbled in the wellness industry with her Goop website, which sells all sorts of products, including a candle called This Smells Like My Vagina ($75).