A B.C. man who assaulted his girlfriend while she tried to take back her phone from him had his appeal dismissed.

B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo heard last month the case of a man who appealed a conviction of assault causing bodily harm stemming from an altercation with his girlfriend on the couch at their home.

鈥淭hey each had possession of the other鈥檚 phone while they were arguing. In thoroughly modern fashion, they were both seeking evidence of cheating by the other,鈥� noted the court decision, released Thursday, Nov. 21.

The 120-pound woman suffered a broken leg, bruises to her arms, and a fingernail ripped off in an altercation with the 220-240-pound man and the appeal related to the circumstances of how the injuries happened.

鈥淭he accused got angry with her over the cellphone notifications, and pushed down on her while she was using her leg to get him off her,鈥� the trial judge found. 鈥淭he injury resulted from his weight on her leg, and he applied his force deliberately in order to get the phone from her.鈥�

The appellant alleged errors by the trial judge, suggesting that there wasn鈥檛 medical evidence to corroborate the explanation of how the harm occurred, so the judge opined on how the injury occurred and the force applied.

The appellant sought to provide new evidence 鈥� an expert report from an orthopedic surgeon who concluded that 鈥渢he complainant kicking out in a forceful extension motion of the knee鈥� was the reason for the injury.

The Supreme Court judge found that the 鈥渁ssumptions as to the mechanisms of injury given to [the doctor] were not reflective of the evidence at trial鈥� and concluded that admitting the expert report was 鈥渘ot necessary to avoid a miscarriage of justice.鈥�

The News Bulletin is not reporting the appellant鈥檚 name to try to protect the identity of the victim.

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