Gary Coleman Gets It On with Judge Mills
Former Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman hoped to finally put an end to his drawn-out legal battle with a Los Angeles woman, as the pint-sized celeb went before TV Judge Mills Lane to defend himself against her $1 million civil lawsuit.
And this is what Lane was talkin' about: In a court appearance that aired Thursday, the syndicated TV judge ruled in favor of Tracy Fields, a bus driver who claimed the erstwhile Arnold Jackson slugged her while she was seeking an autograph.
Lane ordered Coleman, now 32, to pay Fields $1,665 in medical expenses, but he denied her request for additional damages for pain and suffering. The judge told Coleman, "I think you were rude and you should apologize for that, but I do not think this case justifies punitive damages."
In July 1998, the former child star was shopping for a bulletproof vest when he was approached by Fields, who asked him for an autograph. Fields claimed she then asked Coleman to personalize the message, only to see him tear up the autograph in disgust.
"[Coleman] threw it in the trash and said that he hated black people," Fields said during the TV appearance. "I was just shocked and so I told him he had a bad-ass attitude...And I also said that was the reason why he wasn't successful as an adult actor."
Coleman responded by walloping her in the eye.
He claimed he was merely defending himself against the much larger, 205-pound woman. "I decided that because I'd obviously upset this woman, that for my own defense, I'd strike first and try to leave," he said.
As for the "black people" comment, Coleman added, "It's not 'I hate black people.' I don't like rude, off-the-corner, ignorant black people, but that statement never made it into the press because it wasn't sensational."
Still, Coleman pleaded no contest in February 1999 to criminal assault charges, and was required to attend a 26-week anger management class.
"I'm not her boyfriend or her husband, so I still don't understand that," Coleman told Judge Lane. "But I did the 26 weeks anyway."
Lane, the former boxing ref-turned-TV jurist (who, like Coleman, has his own ubiquitous catchphrase: "Let's get it on!"), brought Coleman and Fields together for a courtroom showdown over her civil lawsuit. The show was taped in New York in August.
At one point in the proceeding, Fields failed to give Judge Lane documentation of her medical expenses, and Coleman actually saved her--providing his own copies of the records. Coleman, who at one time made his living as a mall security guard, currently spends his days as a columnist for the Website www.ugo.com.
Judge Lane, meanwhile, went toe-to-toe with Fields when he asked her whether her lawsuit was just about exploiting a celebrity.
"It never was about, as Mr. Coleman can say, about the fame and fortune," Fields said. "It was never about that. It was never about money. It was the principle of him battering--"
Judge Lane cut in: "It's the money. Don't give me that principle stuff, it's the money."
As for lessons learned from the harrowing experience, Coleman said simply, "I hope to God to never run into another person like this."
Amen to that.
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