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Posts online by a man who sued Gwyneth Paltrow over a skiing collision seven years ago might have changed the course of the bombing case – but they were only discovered by a cyber sleuth after both sides in the lawsuit failed to retrieve them.
Lawyers for Terry Sanderson, 76, have argued the Hollywood star met him on February 26, 2016 on the slopes of Flagstaff Mountain at Deer Valley Resort. Mr Sanderson claims Ms Paltrow hit him with a “full-body punch” and left him with a permanent traumatic brain injury that robbed him of “his zest for life”.
Meanwhile, Ms Paltrow claims it was Mr Sanderson who bumped into her.
New evidence was revealed earlier this week after online investigator Michael Fletcher accessed a link Mr Sanderson emailed to his three daughters after the collision – which the defense claimed early on was broken. Speaking to The Independent on Wednesday, Mr Fletcher said all he had to do was create an account on the Meetup website and return to the group chat discussion on the day the skiing accident happened.
“I watched the process. After they kept saying, ‘That’s the most important piece of evidence,’ I thought I’d look at it,” said Mr. Fletcher. “Mind you, I did it all with a cell phone.”
The newly uncovered messages between Mr Sanderson and witness Craig Ramon offer a glimpse of their fresh reactions after the crash, as opposed to their version of what happened on the slopes of Deer Valley seven years later.
While some of their comments on the Meetup forum are consistent with reports the jury has heard over the past seven days of the trial, others contradict, to some degree, what Mr. Sanderson and Mr. Ramon have testified.
So these posts are consistent with what has been said so far in the process:
Has Mr. Sanderson been skiing again?
One of the claims at the heart of Mr Sanderson’s argument is that clashing with Ms Paltrow robbed him of his “charm” and “joie de vivre”.
The jury heard that due to his cognitive decline, Mr. Sanderson is no longer able to enjoy activities he once enjoyed – dancing, wine tasting and skiing.
“I’ve researched this ski group, I went back to 2014, to all the past events of this group where witnesses Craig Ramon and Terry have attended,” Mr Fletcher told The Independent.
(court television)
However, Mr Fletcher said he found a post on October 22, 2016 that suggested Mr Sanderson had at least tried to ski with Ms Paltrow after the crash.
The post read: “…Planning to join our mixed ability Alta Ski group. We usually ski mid week and some Sundays…”
Mr Sanderson testified on Monday that despite his doctor’s orders to stop skiing, he had tried unsuccessfully.
“I was told that if I did that and had another accident, I could end up in a nursing home full-time,” he told jurors.
Did Craig Ramon Know About Ms Paltrow’s Celebrity Status?
During a defense cross-examination last week, Craig Ramon claimed that he only learned of Ms Paltrow’s celebrity status thanks to another member of the Meetup group, who was skiing with him and Mr Sanderson on the day of the collision.
Mr Ramon said he was originally informed by Eric Christiansen, the ski instructor of Mrs Paltrow’s son Moses, that Mr Sanderson “had [taken] from Gwyneth Paltrow.”
He then testified Tuesday (March 21) that another skier told her the Hollywood star was dating “the Coldplay guy” — most likely referring to Chris Martin, the band’s frontman and wife’s ex-husband Paltrow.
In reality, Mrs. Paltrow skied with her children, Apple and Moses, and his then-boyfriend, Brad Falchuck.
Mr Ramon also claimed Mr Falchuck gave him a dirty look as he walked past an unconscious Mr Sanderson, who was still face-deep in the snow.
(meeting/screenshot)
But when Mr. Ramon recounted the collision days later on the Meetup group chat, he gave a much more colorful glimpse into his knowledge of the Goop mogul.
“Gwyneth finished off Terry last week. Last Saturday her son broke his arm skiing in Park City,” Ramon wrote. “Gwyneth stayed at The Montage. She took her plane from Million Air Airport. I wish I knew so many people. What pisses me off is that Gwyneth finished off Terry and just took off.”
Although the post reflected Mr. Ramon’s earlier testimony about this version of events, Ms. Paltrow’s attorneys attempted to poke holes in his claims that he was little aware of Ms. Paltrow’s fame.
After the Meetup contributions were admitted in court on Monday, Mr. Ramon again took the witness stand to explain his remarks. He told the jury that “a lady he knew at Montage” had told him that Ms. Paltrow lived there and that he only found out about her flight arrangements because another friend worked at Million Air Airport.
“She knew Gwyneth did Terry, so when I saw her she told me what happened, I didn’t ask her,” he said.
When confronted with his claims that Ms Paltrow’s son was fake, he said: “I have no idea, I was told that.”
Was Mr. Sanderson impressed by Mrs. Paltrow?
In the newly uncovered posts, Mr Sanderson does not mention who is responsible for the crash, but he testified on Monday that he “was not into celebrity worship”.
When asked why he emailed his three daughters with the subject line “I’m famous” just hours after the collision, he said “a different personality” took over.
“My head was confused. I was just trying desperately to communicate with my kids before they heard from anyone else,” Sanderson told jurors. “I didn’t choose my words well — and it wasn’t at all how I felt… I was really trying to bring some lightness to a serious situation and it backfired. I didn’t know we would be here.”
Gwyneth Paltrow says she lost half a day of skiing
He then said, “I’m not into celebrity worship, so at that point I didn’t care … It was the other personality inhabiting my body.”
Mr. Sanderson only commented on his injuries in the Meetup ski group.
“Thanks everyone for your condolences… it’s officially ‘at least two broken ribs and a concussion’.” ribs only hurt when i move…” he wrote at the time.
How long did it take Mr. Sanderson to remember his name?
In a 2019 filing, Mr. Ramon told Ms. Paltrow’s attorneys that Mr. Sanderson did not know his name when he regained consciousness after the collision.
However, he said at the time that Mr. Sanderson remembered after a few seconds and nodded.
Then he told the jury last week that Mr Sanderson could not remember his name and had been confronted by the defense about his earlier statements.
On the Meetup forum, Mr. Ramon wrote: “Scott, what you didn’t see was Terry passed out. Bad hit on the head! I’m not sure if Terry has broken ribs. I saw the hit. Terry didn’t know his name. I asked Terry what his name was and he didn’t know. Scott, it scared the shit out of me.”
On Monday, Mr Ramon said again under cross-examination: “When I first asked him, he didn’t remember his name.”
Mr Ramon claimed he thought it took Mr Sanderson around six seconds to remember his name, but he couldn’t be sure as he didn’t have the timing.
Another post from Mr Sanderson read: “I was so happy that this sled turned up…I really didn’t know how up and down…”
How bad are Mr Sanderson’s injuries?
One of Mr Sanderson’s revealed comments shows the first signs of his concerns about the impact the collision will have on his physical health and personality, the issue at the heart of his lawsuit.
(Meet)
“The concussion is causing some pretty bizarre physical and personal issues that I’ve never faced before. I hope that turns out to be quick…” wrote Mr. Sanderson.
Mr. Sanderson filed compensatory damages in January 2019, seeking $300,000 in damages for the injuries sustained, prompting the actress to file a countersuit, seeking a token $1 in the event of her winning and taking over her demands legal costs.
During the first six days of the trial, Mr Sanderson’s lawyers and medical experts have described the likelihood of injury being caused by being hit from behind and attributed noticeable changes in his mental acuity to the injuries sustained that day.
Ms Paltrow’s lawyers have attempted to portray Mr Sanderson as a 76-year-old whose decline followed a normal trajectory of aging and was not due to a clash with her prominent client.