1
general::
Phrase(s): have a brush with something
to have a brief contact with something; to have an experience with something. (Especially with the law. Sometimes a close brush.) • Ann had a close brush with the law. She was nearly arrested for speeding. • When I was younger, I had a brush with scarlet fever, but I got over it.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Have an encounter or come in conflict with, as in This was not the first time that Bob had a brush with the law. This expression alludes to the noun brush in the sense of "a hostile collision," a usage dating from about 1400.
American Heritage Idioms