We’ve all heard of stupid lawsuits, but this one right here put the ‘stu’ in stupid. Bill Cosby has been the subject of lawsuits over the current sex assault scandals and allegations against him. However, there was one instance back in the day, where a lawsuit and trial, involving the Cosby Show creator, that read more like a scene out of his 70’s classic film, Uptown Saturday Night. It had all of the attributes- drama, violence, and comedy.

Here’s What Went Down:

In 1994 a New York photographer, Richard Corkery, sued Cosby for $3 million in a case that actually went to trial. According to Corkery, Cosby had gotten violent with him up at a 1992 benefit event honoring his wife, Camille Cosby, in Manhattan, NY. Unfortunately, for the photographer’s ambitious monetary pursuit, he was only able to walk away with a whopping 20 cents of the $3 mill’ he was trying to get from Cosby.

In August 1994, a jury of 12 concluded that although Cosby did in fact rough up the photographer, by ‘shoving and pushing’ him, it was the photographer who was ’90 percent responsible’ for getting the Cosby beatdown.

Therefore, the jury awarded photographer, Corkery, $1 each in “nominal damages” for his assault and battery claims. However, because it was concluded that Cosby was just 10 percent responsible for the scuffle, he was only ordered to pay Corkery 10 percent of the judgement, which resulted in the 20 cents he got from Bill Cosby…Laaaawd.

It was a case that was so odd, even Cosby’s then attorney, William Cavanaugh, had to crack up. Cosby wasn’t present in court on the day of the 20 cent judgement, but according to Seattle Times, Atty. Cavanaugh said at the time, that ‘he would’ve paid Cosby’s damages himself, except he had only a quarter. “I don’t want to overpay,” he said.’

Even more odd, is how Corkery apparently tried to save face in the media. After the verdict was handed down, Corkery claimed that the jury’s decision was “a victory” for him…even though he only got 20 cents of the $3 million he was seeking.

Moral of the story is, if you’re gonna spend money and time on taking a celebrity to court, be sure you have good enough proof to back up your claims.

Now, as far as the more serious sex assault allegations against Cosby, he’ll be heading back to a Pennsylvania court in November (2017) for a retrial, after the the verdict was a hung jury in the previous trial versus one of his accusers, Andrea Constandt.

Source: Seattle Times, Associated Press, UPI