03/28/23 02:12:00
Printable Page
03/28 14:10 CDT Who was uphill? Gwyneth Paltrow trial spotlights skier code
Who was uphill? Gwyneth Paltrow trial spotlights skier code
By SAM METZ
Associated Press
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) --- Skiers have likely noticed signs at mountain resorts
across the country saying, "Know the code." They refer to universal rules of
conduct for skiers and snowboarders --- people who partake in inherently risky
snow sports that involve navigating down crowded slopes, often at high speeds.
But whether they actually understand the code is another question. For
non-skiers, it's likely something they've never heard of.
That's all changing as actor Gwyneth Paltrow's highly publicized ski collision
trial is live-streamed from the courtroom. The
actor-turned-lifestyle-influencer was accused of crashing into a fellow skier
during a 2016 family trip to the upscale, skiers-only Deer Valley resort in
Utah.
After initially suing Paltrow for $3.1 million, retired optometrist Terry
Sanderson, is now suing for at least $300,000.
The celebrity trial is shining a spotlight on the unspoken rules that govern
behavior on the slopes. Testimony over the last six days has repeatedly touched
on skier's etiquette --- especially sharing contact information after a
collision, and ski turn radiuses --- in what experts have said is the most
high-profile ski collision trial in recent history.
There are about 100 code-related lawsuits playing out now outside the
spotlight, but most cases are settled before going to trial.
Throughout the trial, the word "uphill" has emerged as synonymous with
"guilty," as attorneys have leaned heavily on one of the code's main tenets:
The skier who is downhill or ahead on a slope has the right of way.
Rather than focus solely on the question of who hit who, attorneys for both
sides have questioned nearly every witness --- from Paltrow's private ski
instructors to Sanderson's doctors --- about who was downhill at the time of
the collision.
The question has become a focal point of the trial, as both sides call legions
of family members, friends and doctors to testify in Park City --- the posh
resort town in the Rocky Mountains that draws a throng of celebrities each year
for the Sundance Film Festival.
In the courtroom, attorneys have used the term "downhill" hundreds of times
each day --- to try to persuade the jury that the opposing side represents the
skier who was uphill and to blame.
Paltrow's legal team has invested heavily in convincing the jury that she was
downhill when the crash happened, even commissioning artists to render their
client's version of events with multiple, advanced animations.
Because no video footage of the collision was included as evidence, the
recollections of a ski buddy of Sanderson's who claimed last week to be the
collision's sole eyewitness has become a sticking point for Paltrow's team.
Throughout questioning, Paltrow's team has played high-resolution videos on a
projector positioned between witnesses and the jury box --- showing the
eyeball-like prunes of Deer Valley's aspen trees, the ski coats of Paltrow's
children and grooming lines on Bandana, the beginner run where Sanderson and
Paltrow crashed.
"Ms. Paltrow's version of events is consistent with the laws of physics and how
people move and rotate," said Irving Scher, a biomechanical engineer hired by
Paltrow's defense team, who testified Tuesday.
In an equally theatrical display, Sanderson's lawyers tried to rope Paltrow
into a reenactment of events to poke holes in her claim that Sanderson ran into
her from behind --- yet ended up on top when the two plummeted to the ground.
Her attorneys objected to the actor's participation in the scene and the judge
put the kibosh on that.
While there are minor differences in state laws when it comes down to finding
fault, "in court it becomes a question of who was the uphill skier," said
Denver attorney Jim Chalat, who has litigated cases in Utah as well. His firm,
Chalat Hatten & Banker, has 20 active collision cases in Colorado alone.
"It's the uphill skier who is almost always in a position to cause the crash,"
Chalat said Monday. "If you're skiing too fast for your own ability and you
can't carve out a turn, and you hit someone, you're going to be in trouble."
Still, crashes between skiers are rare. The majority of incidents resulting in
injuries or death occur when skiers or snowboarders slam into stationary
objects, usually trees. Collisions involving people represent only about 5% of
skier injuries, Chalat said.
During the 2021-2022 season, there were two reported fatalities as a result of
collisions between two skiers, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
Even though serious crashes are uncommon, the snow sports industry has
prioritized collision awareness in its safety programming. The responsibility
code was recently updated to urge skiers involved in a collision to share
contact information with each other and a ski area employee, said Adrienne Saia
Isaac, the National Ski Areas Association's marketing director.
"Skier-skier collisions are a generally preventable risk we needed to make
folks aware of, and let them know what to do if they were involved in one,"
Isaac said in an email.
Last week, Paltrow was grilled by Sanderson's attorneys for leaving the
collision without first exchanging information with Sanderson. She said she
made sure one of the family's ski instructors handled that for her.
The majority of ski collision cases are typically settled before going to
trial, and very often the payouts are covered by one's homeowners insurance,
said Los Angeles attorney John Morgan of the firm Morgan & Morgan.
Very few cases target the ski resorts where crashes occurred because of the
inherent dangers that come with skiing and snowboarding, Morgan said. The
mountain where the Paltrow-Sanderson collision happened, Deer Valley, was
removed from the lawsuit in part because skiers absolve resorts of
responsibility by agreeing to a set of rules on the back of every lift ticket.
"It's like going to a baseball game and you get hit in the head by a foul ball.
You know by sitting there that there's some risk of that happening," he said.
___
Weber reported from Los Angeles.
|