It's turned out to be one very expensive parking bill for Omar Sharif.
A Beverly Hills parking valet who claimed he was roughed up by the screen idol at a restaurant nearly three years ago won a default judgment Tuesday for more than $318,000 after the 75-year-old Sharif failed to appear for a hearing.
Following a one-day trial, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joe Hilberman ruled in favor of Juan Anderson, a Guatemalan immigrant and docked the Lawrence of Arabia star the amount for essentially ignoring the case.
Sharif pleaded no contest last February to misdemeanor battery for a June 11, 2005 incident in which he ended up brawling with the parking lot attendant because the latter refused to accept a tip in euros.
After finishing dinner at Maestro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, the Egyptian native got into the spat with Anderson after the valet was unable to locate his vehicle. When Sharif offered Anderson the 20 euro note, the attendant told him he wasn't allowed to accept the gratuity because it wasn't the right currency, at which point Sharif purportedly punched him in the head and called him a "stupid Mexican."
Anderson subsequently hit back with a civil suit, accusing the onetime Oscar nominee of being "belligerent and intoxicated."
While a police report indicated that Anderson did not have any visible injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene, he said in his suit that he suffered a broken nose and sought $17,000 in medical bills from the thespian, but also $750,000 in damages (that's 575,000 euros, for those keeping score at him).
It's unclear why Sharif failed to turn up in court.
His attorney, Harland Braun, was unavailable for comment, but he did tell E! News earlier that the elderly actor agreed to plead no contest because he didn't want to have to fly back to Los Angeles at his age to fight the charge.
In the criminal case, Sharif was sentenced to two years' probation and 15 anger-management sessions. which he could complete in either Europe or Egypt. He also had to pay a $1,700 fine
Anderson's lawyer, John Carpenter, told the Los Angeles Daily News the whole affair was "bizarre."
"After Omar Sharif punched my client, he hopped in the car and tried to escape," the legal eagle said.
The eatery's doorman however called the cops and prevented him from doing so.
Sharif, whose diverse credits also include Dr. Zhivago, Funny Girl and its sequel, Funny Lady, and Top Secret!, next pops up on the big screen in Roland Emmerich's blockbuster prehistoric epic 10,000 B.C., due out next month.