SALT LAKE CITY — Gwyneth Paltrow will not recoup the attorneys’ fees she paid to successfully defend herself against a lawsuit from a 76-year-old retired optometrist who claimed she was at fault for crashing into him at a posh Utah ski resort in 2016.
The judgment said Paltrow would not seek attorneys’ fees and Sanderson would not appeal the verdict, effectively ending a protracted legal battle seven years after the two crashed on a beginner run near the base of Deer Valley Resort in Utah. The “Shakespeare in Love” and “Ironman” star’s eight-day court battle last month emerged as the most closely watched American celebrity trial since actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off last year. Sanderson’s lawsuit accused Paltrow of negligence and crashing into him from behind, and then leaving the scene of the accident without ensuring he was in good physical condition.
Under the glare of live Court TV cameras and extensive scrutiny from fans and detractors, Paltrow sat intently in the Park City courtroom throughout the proceedings last month, at and testified that at first, when the crash happened, she thought she was being “violated.”