Resort where Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly hit another skier is accused of ‘covering up’ for the star

The resort where Gwyneth Paltrow allegedly punched another skier “covered up her misconduct” because of her celebrity, it was claimed last night.

Lawyers for Terry Sanderson accused Deer Valley Resort in Utah of pandering to the actress because she was a “big spender” who spent $8,980 (£7,300) on ski lessons for her children.

They claimed in court that the resort gave a ‘wink and a nod’ when she punched Mr Sanderson saying it was his fault in an accident scene report.

The allegations were denied by a Deer Valley manager and the ski instructor who was first on the scene.

Ms Paltrow appeared in court on the sixth day of the trial, where Mr Sanderson is suing her for $300,000 (£240,000) for allegedly rear-ending her in 2016.

The 76-year-old retired optometrist claims he suffered four broken ribs and a permanent brain injury that has drastically changed his personality for the worse. In the courtroom, Paltrow, 50, wore black leather culottes, a pink blouse with an oversized 1980s-style tie and sat with his lawyers drinking green juice from a bottle.

Sanderson’s attorney, Robert Sykes, questioned Steve Graff, who was the ski patrol manager at the time, about how he handled the accident.

Mr Sykes asked if Mr Graff was “bothered” that Eric Christiansen, who was teaching Mrs Paltrow’s son Moses to ski and was first on the scene of the accident, “is going to have lunch with one of the most famous actresses in the world and her family”. ‘ after the incident.

Graff said that was “standard practice” for a ski instructor.

Mr. Sykes asked: ‘Did it ever occur to you that this instructor might be covering up the misconduct of Miss Paltrow, a big spender in Deer Valley?’

The court previously heard that the bill for ski lessons for Ms Paltrow’s sons Moses and Apple came to £7,300.

“No,” replied Mr. Graff.

Mr Sykes asked: ‘Didn’t you basically wink and nod at this misconduct?’ When Mr. Graff asked him to define that, he said it meant ‘he sees something wrong but winks at it but he ignores it’. ‘Absolutely not,’ replied Mr. Graff.

Mr Sykes asked why Mr Christiansen was not ‘fired for filing a false report’, which he blamed on Mr Sanderson because he was the uphill skier.

Mr Graff said: ‘This is your report, there is nothing in it that is false.’

During his earlier testimony, Mr. Christiansen was “ridiculous” that he would do Ms. Paltrow any favors.

In his report on the incident, he said that Mr. Sanderson was the uphill skier and therefore at fault.

Irving Scher, a biomechanics expert, told the court that Paltrow’s claim that Sanderson hit her was “consistent with the law of physics.”

But the idea that Mr. Sanderson was the one who was hit from behind did not meet that standard, Dr. Scher said. The calculations by Mr. Sanderson’s expert neurologist, Dr. Richard Boehme, that backed up his claims were “absolutely wrong,” Dr. Scher told the jury.

The court was shown a short animation showing the moment of impact as described by Ms. Paltrow.

It showed Mr Sanderson hitting Mrs Paltrow from the left rear, the two sliding together a short distance and collapsing to the right in a ‘scoop’ position.

Sanderson’s lawyers objected to the inclusion of the animation because it “distorts reality”, but the judge allowed it for demonstration purposes.

Ms Paltrow countersued for an $1 token (81p) plus legal fees in the case that her lawyers say is ‘total garbage’.

The trial is expected to continue until the end of the week.