LOS ANGELES: Gwyneth Paltrow is not liable for an accident on a swanky US ski slope, a jury ruled on Thursday, as it dismissed a claim from a retired optometrist.

Terry Sanderson, 76, had alleged a collision in Utah with the star left him with four broken ribs and lasting psychological damage, injuries his lawyers said were worth $3.3 million.

Paltrow countersued for a symbolic $1.

After an eight-day civil trial, the jury in Park City unanimously found the “Shakespeare in Love” actress did not cause the 2016 crash, a position she had maintained all along.

“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” Paltrow, 50, said after the verdict.

“I am pleased with the outcome,” she added. The live-streamed hearing sparked headlines around the world, and became a hot topic on social media, generating memes and making perhaps-unwitting stars of the lawyers involved.

The Oscar-winner was in court every day, listening attentively to evidence, including Sanderson’s claims that she had run into him with such force that he went airborne.

“I got hit in my back so hard and it was right at my shoulder blades, a serious, serious smack. I’ve never been hit that hard, and I’m flying,” he told the jury earlier.

“Last thing I remember, everything was black.” The plaintiff said the crash, which happened at the tony Deer Valley resort, had left him with permanent brain damage and had altered his personality such that he could no longer enjoy life.

“These are golden years,” attorney Lawrence Buhler told the jury on Thursday before they began their deliberations.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2023