B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Gwyneth Paltrow wasn't to blame for a 2016 collision with a retired optometrist on a beginner run at a posh Utah ski resort during a family vacation, a jury decided Thursday following a live-streamed trial that became a pop culture fixation.
A jury awarded Paltrow US$1 -- a symbolic amount she asked for in order to show it wasn't about money -- and delivered her the vindication she sought when she opted to take it to trial rather than settle out of court.
"I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity," Paltrow said in a statement released by her representatives that she also posted as an Instagram story for her 8.3 million followers. She also thanked the judge and jury for their work.
As Paltrow left court she touched Terry Sanderson's shoulder and told him, "I wish you well," he told reporters outside court. He responded, "Thank you dear."
Paltrow's attorney, Steve Owens, added in a statement he read outside court that "Gwyneth has a history of advocating for what she believes in -- this situation was no different and she will continue to stand up for what is right."
Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury's verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off last year.
After the verdict was read, the judge polled the jury, which was unanimous on the decision. In civil court in Utah, only three-fourths of jurors need to agree on a verdict. The attorney fees Paltrow asked for in her countersuit were not included in the jury's verdict, leaving the bulk of the final award for the Park City judge to decide.
Addressing reporters after the verdict, Sanderson questioned whether the lawsuit was worth it and said he believed that people tend to naturally trust celebrities like Paltrow.
"You get some assumed credibility from being a famous person," Sanderson said. "Really, who wants to take on a celebrity?"
The dismissal concludes two weeks of courtroom proceedings that hinged largely on reputation rather than the monetary damages at stake in the case. Paltrow's attorneys described the complaint against her as "utter B.S." and painted the Goop founder-CEO as uniquely vulnerable to unfair, frivolous lawsuits due to her celebrity.
Paltrow took the witness stand during the trial to insist that the collision wasn't her fault, and to describe how she was stunned when she felt "a body pressing against me and a very strange grunting noise."
Throughout the trial, the word "uphill" became synonymous with "guilty, " as attorneys focused on a largely unknown skiing code of conduct that stipulates that the skier who is downhill or ahead on the slope has the right of way.
Worldwide audiences followed the celebrity trial as if it were episodic television. Viewers scrutinized both Paltrow and Sanderson's motives while attorneys directed questions to witnesses that often had less to do with the collision and more to do with their client's reputations.
The trial took place in Park City, a resort town known for hosting the annual Sundance Film Festival, where early in her career Paltrow would appear for the premieres of her movies including 1998's "Sliding Doors," at a time when she was known primarily as an actor, not a lifestyle influencer. Paltrow is also known for her roles in "Shakespeare in Love" and the "Iron Man" movies.
The jury's decision marks a painful court defeat for Sanderson, the man who sued Paltrow for more than US$300,000 over injuries he sustained when they crashed on the ski slope at Deer Valley Resort.
"He never returned home that night as the same man. Terry has tried to get off that mountain but he's really still there," attorney Robert Sykes said during closing arguments.
Both parties blamed the other for the collision. Sanderson, 76, broke four ribs and sustained a concussion after the two tumbled down the slope, with Paltrow landing on top of him.
He filed an amended complaint after an earlier US$3.1 million lawsuit was dismissed. In response, Paltrow countersued for US$1 and attorney fees, a symbolic action that mirrors Taylor Swift's response to a radio host's defamation lawsuit. Swift was awarded US$1 in 2017.
Paltrow's defence team represented Sanderson as an angry, aging and unsympathetic man who had over the years become "obsessed" with his lawsuit against Paltrow. They argued that Paltrow wasn't at fault in the crash and also said, regardless of blame, that Sanderson was overstating the extent of his injuries.
----
AP writer Anna Furman contributed from Los Angeles.
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.