Academy Award-winning businesswoman-turned-businesswoman Gwyneth Paltrow is on trial this week in a civil suit over a 2016 collision with another skier at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. The lawsuit raises questions about who is liable if one skier hits another on the slopes.
In court hearings, attorneys for Paltrow and plaintiff Terry Sanderson each portrayed their clients as conservative skiers who were stunned when the other party crashed into them from above. Sanderson’s attorney described Paltrow as wealthy and out of touch, while Paltrow’s attorney cast doubt on Sanderson’s memory, noting his age of 76 and previous brain injuries.
But it’s Paltrow’s location on the mountain in relation to Sanderson that will likely determine whether she will be asked to pay him millions in damages, lawyers say.
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The Deer Valley guest sued Paltrow in 2019, alleging that she skied recklessly and crashed into him from above, resulting in serious, permanent injuries and emotional distress. Paltrow later countered, claiming it was Sanderson who hit her from behind.
Paltrow, who founded wellness and lifestyle brand GOOP, has claimed – and some legal experts are speculating – that Sanderson sued her to exploit her fame and fortune.
“He demanded that Mrs Paltrow pay him millions. If she didn’t pay, she would face negative publicity over his allegations,” her attorneys wrote in a 2019 court filing.
Actress/entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom in Park City, Utah, March 21, 2023, where she is charged in a court case with colliding with a skier while on a family ski vacation in 2016 and carrying him with her Brain damage and four broken legs left ribs behind. RICK BOWMER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Uphill or downhill?
In any case, the case depends on which of the two parties acted unreasonably on skis.
“If one skier hits another, it’s negligence. Did they do something wrong?” Personal injury attorney Roger Cohn, of Kohn Roth Law, told CBS MoneyWatch.
As far as behavior on the ski slopes is concerned, it is almost always the uphill skier’s duty to beware of the downhill skier. In other words, the downhill skier – the person further down the slope – has the right of way.
“The climber has to watch out for the downhill driver. If you overtake and hit someone, you’re probably liable and at fault,” Cohn added.
According to the National Ski Areas Association Code of Responsibility, which governs ski areas in North America, “People in front of or downhill from you have the right-of-way. You have to avoid them.”
Skiers must also “always be in control” and be able to stop to avoid other people.
collisions happen
Ski collisions are not uncommon and when injuries do occur, lawyers are sometimes involved.
“Some lawyers have built their entire careers on ski accidents,” Bryn “Butch” Peterson, a veteran ski instructor from Colorado, told CBS MoneyWatch. He added that he once saw a woman get hit by a skier coming “busted out of a tree trail” in Vail, Colorado.
But unlike this incident, most skiing accidents are not caused by collisions between skiers or skiers and snowboarders. They occur when skiers hit a tree or other obstacle.
According to the NSAA, there were 57 reported fatal incidents during the 2021-2022 ski season, most of which resulted from skiers crashing into trees. Men accounted for 95% of all deaths. There were a further 54 reported “catastrophic” incidents during the same season.
Plaintiff Terry Anderson, 76, at a press conference in 2019, saying Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, collided with him while skiing in 2016 and “caused a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries.” @TVDanRascon/Twitter
Homeowners Insurance
Most home insurance policies also include general liability insurance, which essentially follows a homeowner even when they are away from home, including when they are skiing.
“It covers you if there’s something dangerous in your house or on your property and someone gets hurt and sues you, but it also follows you around if you’re at the grocery store and you run over a child with a shopping cart and it will cover you Ski collision claims,” said David Cutt of Cutt, Kendell and Olson in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“So that’s what’s going on here. In this case, if Paltrow has homeowners insurance, then they step in and pay a settlement or judgment up to the limit of the policy,” he said.
Typically, an attorney would only be hired if the defendant is wealthy or has home insurance, Cohn said.
“If you’re suing someone who doesn’t have homeowner’s insurance, it’s a waste of time,” he said.
But, he added, if they have insurance, that policy will kick in, and the insurer will defend the claim and pay it.
In a two-person collision, one of the parties involved is not always negligent.
“But there is a clear liability case if you can show that the other skier speeded, misbehaved or should have seen the other skier,” he said.
Legal analyst at the Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Accident Trial in Utah
He said she said
Cutt said he’s tried dozens or more of such cases in Utah, and the verdict always depends on who the jury thinks the uphill and downhill skiers are.
“In that trial, Sanderson says he was the downhill skier and she hit him from behind, and she says the exact opposite — that she rode along and he hit her from above,” Cutt said.
“So it’s going to come down to the jury hearing everyone about the collision itself and the aftermath and deciding who they think is credible and who they don’t,” Cutt said. “And the fact that it’s Gwyneth Paltrow is the big elephant in the room.”