A magistrate has described a mid-afternoon brawl in Maitland's main street as being "like something from the wild west".
Zane William Dallen pleaded guilty in Maitland Local Court on Wednesday to a count of affray involving unlawful violence - described in court documents as "conduct such that a person of reasonable firmness ... would have feared for their safety".
According to a statement of facts tendered to the court, the 24-year-old was driving past the Belmore Hotel in Central Maitland at about 2.30pm on September 4 last year when he spotted an acquaintance, and pulled over.
The man came out of the pub, where he was having lunch, to meet Dallen.
A brawl ensued after a brief conversation - Dallen's solicitor told the court on Wednesday it started after the other man made a slight about Dallen's recently deceased mother.
Police patrolling the area arrived at the scene to find an affray involving about eight people.
Dallen and the other man were at the heart of the commotion, punching and kicking each other. Both suffered minor injuries.
The other man told police he went to meet Dallen because he believed he had his sunglasses.
The court heard on Wednesday the pair had an extensive "history".
Magistrate Kevin Hockey said the scene "sounds like something from the wild west".
He convicted Dallen and fined him $1000.
