During opening statements today, Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyer Steve Owens said 76-year-old Terry Sanderson was the one who crashed into his client.
Gwyneth Paltrow looked every bit the Hollywood star while rushing into a Utah court on Tuesday.
The Oscar-winner bundled up in a long coat and hid behind dark glasses as she and her security team tried to evade photographers lined up outside.
Moments later, the wellness warrior entered the courtroom to face off with Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist who claims she plowed into him on a ski slope, leaving him with four broken ribs and permanent brain damage.
The collision happened in February 2016 on a beginner ski trail at a ritzy resort in Park City, Utah.
During opening statements today, Paltrow's lawyer Steve Owens said Sanderson was the one who crashed into his client.
"Suddenly she sees two skis appear between her skis and a man comes up right behind her, almost body to body like this, and starts groaning," Owens told the court during his opening statement.
Paltrow allegedly scoffed at the man's notion that she had run into him at the time, says Owens, and told him: "You ran square right into me."
Owens also revealed in court on Tuesday that the defense would be calling Paltrow's children, Apple and Moses, as well as her husband, Brad Falchuk, to testify.
Sanderson previously told Inside Edition that he was skiing with friends when Paltrow smacked into him on the slopes.
"And boom, I got clobbered in the back," Sanderson said at the time.
Court TV Legal correspondent Julia Jenaé notes that age could play a role in the trial.
"He was 69 years old when this happened," Jenaé points out. "That is part of Paltrow's claim against him, that these are prior injuries, that he was already complaining about not feeling like himself and having decreased vision in his eye.."
Jenaé adds: "They even say he shouldn't have been skiing that day."
At the midway point on Tuesday, Paltrow was seen shielding her face with her notebook as she exited the courtroom at one point.
The judge has capped the damages Sanderson might be able to receive at $300,000, while Paltrow is countersuing for one dollar.
