<\/p>\n
Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has thanked jurors who found her not liable for a 2016 ski crash at a resort in the US state of Utah.<\/p>\n
Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, had said Ms Paltrow crashed into him, inflicting life-changing injuries.<\/p>\n
Mr Sanderson, who was seeking $300,000 (\u00a3245,000) in damages, said Thursday\u2019s verdict was \u201cvery disappointing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jurors sided with Ms Paltrow, 50, who blamed Mr Sanderson for the accident and countersued for $1 plus legal fees.<\/p>\n
Listening to the verdict in court, Ms Paltrow was expressionless, staring straight ahead and appearing to nod slightly. She then walked out.<\/p>\n
As she left, she briefly stopped to speak to Mr Sanderson. He later said she told him: \u201cI wish you well.\u201d He replied: \u201cThank you dear.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement posted as an Instagram story to her 8.3 million followers, the Oscar winner said: \u201cI felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she was pleased with the outcome and thanked the judge and eight-member jury for \u201ctheir thoughtfulness in handling this case\u201d.<\/p>\n
It took the jury three hours of deliberation to unanimously find Mr Sanderson entirely at fault for the incident, and award Ms Paltrow the symbolic sum she had sought.<\/p>\n
Speaking to media outside, her lawyer Steve Owens said Ms Paltrow \u201chas a history of advocating for what she believes in\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis situation was no different and she will continue to stand up for what is right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Afterwards Mr Sanderson maintained he was the one hit on the slope and suggested that Ms Paltrow\u2019s star power had helped her in court.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get some assumed credibility from being a famous person,\u201d he said. \u201cReally, who wants to take on a celebrity?\u201d<\/p>\n
The two-week trial heard from dozens of witnesses with contradictory stories about who crashed into whom.<\/p>\n
In Mr Sanderson\u2019s telling, the actress slammed into him on a beginners\u2019 slope at Deer Valley Resort in Park City. Ms Paltrow then skied away while he remained unconscious in the snow with broken ribs, Mr Sanderson said.<\/p>\n
The accident left him with life-altering brain trauma, he testified.<\/p>\n