On June 5, 2010, plaintiff, Mauricio Lizarzaburu, 36, a videographer, experienced surfer and Olympic snowboarder, went to Venice beach with his family and a couple of friends to have a relaxing day and surf in the designated surfing area. As he was about to catch one of the waves that approached him, he noticed Ajit Chada standing on a stand-up paddleboard and headed directly toward him. As a result, Lizarzaburu dove into the wave in order to avoid being run over by the paddle-board. When he emerged from the water, Lizarzaburu yelled at Chada. Consequently, after engaging in a verbal exchange, Lizarzaburu was struck in the face with Chada’s oar. The responding police officers were ultimately able to locate and arrest Chada, who was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon. Criminal charges were filed and Chada ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge. Lizarzaburu sued Chada for assault and battery. Lizarzaburu claimed that, initially, other surfers and swimmers were getting upset with Chada for continuously losing control of his paddle-board and causing it to run into the other surfers and swimmers. He alleged that he dove underwater in a panic and in fear for his life when he saw Chada approaching and that when he emerged, he was understandably frightened and upset. He claimed that was why he began to yell at Chada that he should not be in the water since it was apparent that he had no idea what he was doing. He also claimed he yelled that Chada was acting in complete disregard of the common rules and courtesy of those in the surf-area. Lizarzaburu alleged that the head lifeguard on duty in the area was an eyewitness to all the events. Lizarzaburu testified that while they were having this verbal exchange, they were both off of their boards and treading water approximately 10 feet away from one another, and that Chada was still holding on to the oar. He claimed that during their argument, Chada raised the oar out of the water and over his head, and then lunged it at him, striking him in the face. Lizarzaburu claimed that Chada then immediately swam to shore and started to run away despite the lifeguards’ orders to stop. Plaintiff’s counsel further contended that there was no evidence that Chada was acting in self-defense, as Lizarzaburu did nothing to indicate that he was going to physically assault Chada. According to Chada, he and his friend were enjoying the water and surfing on the day of the incident. He claimed that the first time he knew of any problem was when he was suddenly knocked off his board by Lizarzaburu’s surfboard as he was taking a wave back. Chada claimed the force of Lizarzaburu’s board hitting his board forced him under the water and that when he came to the surface, Lizarzaburu was yelling at him in a threatening manner. He alleged that, together with the yelling and aggressive act of being knocked off the board, he was fearful for his safety. He claimed that as a result, he took his oar and put it between himself and Lizarzaburu to create some distance. However, Chada claimed he never intended to hit Lizarzaburu with the oar and that, instead, Lizarzaburu charged toward him, impacting his nose with the oar. Chada claimed that since he felt that his life was being threatened, he ran to the shore and then to his friend’s apartment. He also claimed that as he made his way toward his friend’s apartment, he claimed he was chased by an individual whom he believed was a friend of Lizarzaburu. Chada stated that he stayed at his friend’s apartment for approximately a half hour and then returned to the beach, but claimed that as he approached the lifeguard stand, he was forcefully hit over the head by an individual whom he believed was the person that was chasing him earlier., Lizarzaburu was struck in the face with an oar, but was able to swim to shore, where he was given immediate emergency care by the lifeguard and responding emergency medical technicians. Lizarzaburu suffered a horizontal cut across his nose, causing the lower flap/tip of it to rest on his upper lip. He was subsequently taken to the emergency room at Marina Del Rey Hospital, where his nose was stitched up. Following the incident, Lizarzaburu was instructed to stay out of the sun for two to three months to minimize the scarring. He claimed that this made him less social and prevented him from working outdoors. Lizarzaburu was ultimately left with a permanent scar across the tip of his nose. He claimed that he also suffers continued numbness to the tip of his nose.