It’s the age old problem that has happened to all of us. You have a favorite hat that means quite a lot to you. But one day, you are running around wearing just your underpants and your favorite hat, and a woman asks you for your hat. You foolishly give it to her, only to find out that seventeen years later she is trying to sell your favorite hat for a profit. And to add insult to injury, she has written a not too flattering book about you.

But you are poor and have no power, so what can you do?

However, if you have wealth and power, you have other options: File suit!

Headline Telegraph: Bono’s court crusade to win back trousers, a Stetson and his earrings

The U2 singer Bono took a break from his crusade to eradicate African poverty yesterday when he went to court in an attempt to retrieve a pair of trousers, an “iconic” Stetson hat and the hoop earrings he wore in the late 1980s….

U2 have taken their former stylist Lola Cashman to court, claiming that she took the memorabilia without permission while they were on tour promoting their Joshua Tree album in 1987 and making their Rattle and Hum film….

“You may have wealth and power,” he said. “But when someone is trying to push us around and blackmail us and threaten us with books, at a certain point you have to say ‘Stop right there’.”

The singer was referring to an unauthorised biography of U2, Inside the Zoo, written by the former stylist. In the book, Ms Cashman says the band gave her the items, including the Stetson worn by Bono on the cover of Rattle and Hum….

In her evidence, Ms Cashman claimed that Bono came off stage and was running around in his underpants with his hat on. She asked for the Stetson and he handed it over, she said.

Well, here’s a tip for Bono. Next time you’re running around back stage in just your underpants and favorite hat, save yourself some trouble and don’t give away the hat.