It began back in January 2019, when retired optometrist Terry Sanderson sued Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow for $3.1 million, claiming that three years earlier, she collided with him on a ski slope at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.
According to him, Paltrow was going too fast and was distracted, resulting in “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries.”
Paltrow counter-sued Sanderson the next month, claiming that it was actually Sanderson who came crashing to her.
At that time, the high-profile celebrity only sought a symbolic one dollar in damages, as well as repayment of her legal fees. It didn't take long before the judges dismissed the lawsuit.
That however, didn't stop Sanderson, who then returned to the court to claim damages for $300,000.
The second lawsuit between the two began earlier in March 2023.
Sanderson insisted that the Shakespeare in Love star crashed into him while they were both skiing on the same slope, and following the crash, Sanderson also claimed that Paltrow left him alone after injuring him severely.
And later in the trial, Sanderson also claimed that he faced three separate near-death experiences, and they could all be traced back to that collision with Paltrow.
During the trial, netizens were already occupied with dealing with different opinions.
Whereas some sided with the Paltrow, some didn't.
Regardless, when things attract the interest of internet users, internet sleuths won't be far behind.
And this is what exactly happened, when amateur internet detectives found that some that Sanderson claimed, are pure nonsense.
For example, in one of his claims, Sanderson said that the collision with Paltrow robbed him of his "charm" and "zest for life."
At court, Sanderson also testified that despite being instructed by his doctor not to ski again, he had attempted to do it without success.
"I was told that if I did and had another crash, that I could wind up full-time in a nursing home," he told jurors.
Besides skiing, the jury heard that 76-year-old Terry Sanderson is no longer able to enjoy other activities that used to give him joy, which also include dancing and wine tasting, due to suffering a cognitive decline.
"I researched that ski group, I went back to 2014 to every single of that group’s past events that witness Craig Ramon and Terry were attending," an the internet sleuth said in an interview.
In an October 22, 2016 post, it's hinted that Sanderson had attempted to ski in the aftermath of the crash.
“ [...] Plan on joining our Alta Ski group of mixed abilities. We usually ski mid-week and some Sundays [...] ” a post from Sanderson said.
And in an email he sent to his three daughters hours after the incident, Sanderson wrote that “another personality” had taken over, with the subject like "I'm famous."
"My head was scrambled. All I was trying to do was desperately communicate with my kids before they heard from someone else," said Sanderson "I didn’t pick my words well—and it was not at all how I felt... I was really trying to add some levity to a serious situation and it backfired. Little did I know this is where we’d be."
"I’m not into celebrity worship, so I didn’t care at that point [...] It was the other personality inhabiting my body."
Then, on March 30, the jury came to the conclusion that Paltrow did nothing wrong, and was not at fault.
The judges considered that it was Sanderson who made the mistake.
The court then awarded Paltrow, whose net worth is reportedly north of $200 million, $1 in damages, just like what she asked in a countersuit:
In the end of the trial, Gwyneth Paltrow took in a brief pause to approach Terry Sanderson from his back. At the time, he was still sitting on his seat.
"I wish you well," Paltrow whispered to the man's ear, before heading to the exit door.
Sanderson was surprised, but certainly didn't take his defeat lightly.
"You get some assumed credibility from being a famous person […] Who wants to take on a celebrity? No wonder I hesitated."
He added, "It’s difficult. Who wants to do that someone who learns lines, learns how to play someone else’s part and be believable, be credible, wins awards? Who wants to go on that path?"
By unsuccessfully suing Paltrow over the Utah ski crash, the retired optometrist said that filing the lawsuit was simply not worth it.
He shouldn’t have bothered pursuing legal action against the Goop founder, telling reporters that he was "very disappointed” to lose the case.
"I believe she thinks she has the truth," he said, "but I absolutely know I said I would not bring any falsehoods."
But still, Sanderson doesn't want to think too poorly of Paltrow, who stars as Pepper Potts in Marvel Cinematic Universe .
Speaking about her words to his ear after the trial, he said that it was "very kind of her."
As he exited the courtroom, speaking to reporters, his case, his defeat, and the remorse in his action, "I'm gonna be on the internet forever," he said.
He also said that he responded to Paltrow's words with a “Thank you, dear.”
As for Paltrow, she went straight to the door after the trial, and didn't speak with reporters. She did release a statement through her attorneys.
"I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” Paltrow said in her statement.
“I am pleased with the outcome and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.”
Just like many other trials before this, outcomes frequently side with the wealthy and the famous.
High-profile individuals who ended up in courts, will receive the most attention, whether they're the plaintiff or the defendant. And the people who are against them in trials, often asked more than they suffered in damage, only by knowing that the person they're up against, is a high-net worth individual.
But unlike most other cases, or like famous Johnny Deep vs. Amber Heard case, the jurors in Paltrow trial made their decisions very quickly.
"It took us less than 20 minutes to say Gwyneth was not at fault," said Sam Imrie, a member of the eight-person jury.
Imrie added that it was hard to say Sanderson was at fault as the who thing "seems like just an accident."