A judge has turned down an offer by Gwyneth Paltrow’s legal team to bring “treats” for courtroom security at her trial in Utah.
The actress and CEO of Goop is joined by retired optometrist Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, is suing and is due to testify today.
Sanderson claims she collided with him on February 26, 2016 on the slopes of Flagstaff Mountain at Deer Valley Resort.
Before the trial began Thursday in the Park City court, attorney Steve Owens asked the judge if Paltrow’s team could bring treats to the bailiffs to thank them for their service.
“Private security for my client wanted to say thank you to the bailiffs for their helpfulness,” Owens said. “So I wanted to make that transparent and see if there were any objections.”
US actress Gwyneth Paltrow enters the courtroom after her lunch break March 23, 2023 in Park City, Utah
Sanderson’s attorneys then protested, arguing that the defense failed to fill them out before submitting the application to the judge.
“Okay, there’s an objection, so thanks, but no thanks,” the judge ordered. “If the parties later decide to do so, that’s fine too.”
It’s unclear what treats her team would have offered.
Earlier this week, Judge Kent Holmberg told the defense that the court would help facilitate Paltrow’s transitions from her vehicle to the courtroom so she would not be disturbed by the press waiting in the parking lot.
Sanderson claims Paltrow hit him with a “full-body punch” that left him with “permanent traumatic brain injuries, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of zest for life, emotional distress and disfigurement.” Paltrow claims Sanderson bumped into her.
Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages. Paltrow, 50, denies liability for the accident and has countersued.
During Thursday’s trial, the plaintiff’s daughter, Polly Sanderson-Grasham, said her father had been “open minded and engaged” before the crash but now gets “excited” and is “easily frustrated.”
Speaking of a post-crash opportunity, Sanderson-Grasham, 49, said she really noticed the changes in her father.
“He was sitting in a chair by the window and I almost expected drool to come out of his mouth,” she said.
“First, he wasn’t engaged to anyone. He had kind of gotten himself into a secluded corner and that was my first real kind of slap in the face like something is terribly wrong.
However, under cross-examination, she accepted that her father had “frequently frustrated” and “crossed limits” on occasion before the accident.
Attorneys representing Gwyneth Paltrow and the man who sued her over a 2016 skiing collision huddled with Judge Kent Holmberg on March 22, 2023 in Park City, Utah
She said her father had become “obsessed” with the process and very much wanted an apology.
Sanderson lost consciousness for a few minutes after the accident and suffered a concussion, according to his lawsuit.
A doctor who testified Thursday morning said the plaintiff suffered a traumatic brain injury that “completely changed his life.”
dr Alina Fong, a neuropsychologist, said Sanderson had been “struggling with concussion symptoms for a year and a half” when she first saw him in May 2017.
She said Sanderson reported symptoms including “mood and personality changes, pain, as well as headaches.”
When asked if there were any signs he was faking his symptoms, Dr. Fong, there are “none at all”.
The accident on a beginner’s slope happened while Paltrow was skiing with her family.
Sanderson’s attorneys said the Hollywood actress and lifestyle influencer was riding up the hillside and crashed into him from behind, proving his injuries.
Her defense team say she was beginning to descend the slope when a man crashed into her back.
They have focused on Sanderson’s health prior to the collision, including hearing and vision loss from a stroke.
Paltrow is seeking $1 in damages plus attorneys’ fees.