A jury has found that a former Lemon Grove council member was acting in self-defense during an altercation with a local businessman, ending a years-long court fight that involved some of the city’s most prominent citizens.

David Arambula will not have to pay damages to Christopher Williams after the two fought at Arambula’s home years ago, according to court records and representatives for some of the parties.

The verdict, reached March 6 in San Diego Superior Court, can be appealed.

Williams’ attorney, Cory Briggs, said no decision had yet been made and did not comment further.

A lawyer for Arambula said the “last several years have been a difficult time for our client in the wake of this incident.”

Arambula “has always maintained he acted in self-defense after Mr. Williams violently confronted him at the end of the night — after not getting his way with respect to his marijuana application business — and placed him in a chokehold,” Kathryn Lee Colgan, a partner with the firm Tyson and Mendes, said in a statement.

Williams had also sued the city of Lemon Grove, which was similarly found not liable.

“The City has always contended the meeting was not related to City business and that the former Councilmember was not acting in his official capacity at the time,” City Manager Lydia Romero said in a statement.

The fight occurred July 14, 2017, after Williams showed up at Arambula’s house wanting to talk about his efforts to open a cannabis dispensary. Arambula has said he thought the discussion would be more general and wasn’t comfortable going over a pending application.

The meeting had been arranged by Taisha Brown, the former vice chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, and Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez was present for at least part of the evening. Both have said they left before there was any violence.

While the two men agreed the exchange later came to blows, they dispute the specifics.

Williams accused Arambula of striking him on the head with a beer bottle and kicking, punching, choking and biting him.

Arambula, who served in the Marine Corps, has said he was attacked first and feared for his life. He’s acknowledged hitting Williams “about four times, five times” in the nose, mouth and above his eyes, and at one point dragging Williams outside.

The businessman was left with a gash over his eye, a broken rib and bite marks on his arms, according to court records.

The jury agreed that Arambula did “touch” Williams “with the intent to harm or offend,” and that the businessman was “harmed” in the process. But the verdict said Arambula “reasonably” believed he was in danger and only used “the amount of force that was reasonably necessary to protect himself.”

As the case wound its way through the courts, Arambula lost his race for re-election in 2020, pulling in the least amount of votes among four candidates. He was also accused of harassment by another council member, although a request for a restraining order was dismissed after the two sides reached a settlement.

Williams, who’s run unsuccessfully for mayor, did get initial approval from the city council almost a year ago to open a dispensary.