Taylor Swift’s name was brought up in court on Friday, but this time an attorney argued someone stole an idea from her.
A retired Army optometrist is suing Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000 after they were involved in a skiing accident at a Utah resort in 2016. The Oscar-winning actor initially countersued him for $1 and explained her reasoning on Friday, saying “it’s symbolic because the damages would actually be more.”
Terry Sanderson, who originally sued Paltrow for $3 million, has accused Paltrow of crashing into him while not paying attention to her surroundings at Deer Valley Resort, resulting in him being severely injured: He said he suffered four broken ribs, a concussion, and a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash.
His attorney Kristin VanOrman asked Paltrow if a 2017 case involving Swift inspired Paltrow’s countersuit decision in 2019. Paltrow, however, said she was not aware of Swift’s case at the time.
In August 2017, former radio host David Mueller was required to pay $1 to Swift after a jury ruled in her favor in a countersuit. Mueller initially sued Swift, as well radio promotions director Frank Bell, for allegedly interfering with a contract as a Denver radio DJ by pressuring station KYGO to fire him. This occurred after Swift said Mueller groped her at a 2013 meet-and-greet.
"Are you good friends with Taylor Swift?" VanOrman asked.
"I would not say we're good friends," Paltrow responded. "We are friendly. I've taken my kids to one of her concerts before, but we don't talk very often."
VanOrman then asked if she had given Swift “personal intimate gifts for Christmas,” which Judge Kent Holmberg ruled Paltrow didn’t have to answer.
VanOrman then suggested Paltrow is actually countersuing for “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to pay for her legal expenses.
“I’m asking for a dollar for me and then reimbursement of attorneys’ fees, which is a separate thing,” Paltrow said.
When VanOrman asked if that could be a substantial amount of money, Paltrow said “potentially.”
While testifying, Paltrow insisted that Sanderson was the one who collided with her.
When pressed by VanOrman on how she initially responded after the crash, Paltrow conceded that she shouted at Sanderson.
"I think you have to keep in mind when you're the victim of a crash, right, your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it," Paltrow said.
Paltrow also said she didn’t give Sanderson her contact information following the incident and instead accepted their family ski instructor’s offer to do that on her behalf.
Sanderson is scheduled to testify on Monday.