Mijas community president ordered to pay for neighbour’s new teeth after camping row turns physical

What began as a late-night request swiftly devolved into an argument, setting off a chain of events that proved disastrous for everyone’s blood pressure - and dental hygiene.

Minutes later, the young man’s father arrived at the president’s doorstep to demand an explanation for his son’s treatment. The president promptly criticised the boy’s lack of manners and before long, the two mature neighbours decided the best way to resolve residential administration policy was a physical brawl.

One grabbed the other by the throat; the other responded with a punch so forceful it knocked out four of his rival’s teeth.

The confrontation, which took place on 14 July, 2021, ended with both men convicted of assault. Unhappy with the initial ruling from the Malaga Provincial Court, both individuals appealed to the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA) in Granada, each attempting to clear his name and claim the moral high ground.

The TSJA, however, proved unimpressed by both arguments. Rejecting the president's claim that he was merely acting in self-defence against an unprovoked attack, judges reviewed mobile phone footage recorded by the neighbour's wife.

The video showed the father stepping back after an initial shove before charging right back toward the president, who then landed his signature blow. The judges observed that the president showed no signs of the "suffocation" he claimed, while the neighbour "by no means avoided the confrontation."

Applying Supreme Court jurisprudence on mutual aggression, the court ruled that when two neighbours willingly step up for a fight, neither can claim the legal shield of self-defence.

The financial fallout of the midnight clash is far from trivial:

• The President: Ordered to pay a six-month fine at six euros a day (€1,080) for actual bodily harm. He must also compensate his neighbour €4,371.89 for his injuries and foot the bill for a brand-new upper fixed denture supported by four implants - capped at €10,000.

• The Father: Fined one month at six euros a day (€180) for minor assault, and ordered to pay the president €1,972 for the neck sprain and dizzyness he caused during his chokehold.

Arguments even erupted over the state of the victim's mouth prior to the punch. The president insisted his neighbour already wore dentures, but the attending dentist confirmed the original plate rested on the four teeth knocked into orbit by the blow.

The neighbour's attempt to claim additional compensation for a "reactive depressive disorder" caused by the fight was roundly rejected after medical records revealed he had been receiving treatment for anxiety and depression long before the camping argument took place.

Though both men remain convicted, either may still lodge a final appeal with the Supreme Court in Madrid.

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