Noisy Generator Leads to Assault

In the OC, a man assaulted his neighbor with a flashlight because his generator was too loud. Apparently during the blackout the properly prepared neighbor refused to turn off his generator which was annoying his grasshopper neighbor. So the grasshopper neighbor thunked him on the head with his flashlight. Do you think it was one of those big, heavy Maglight kinds? I'm betting that in California it's still a crime but from having run my own generator, I can sort of see the complaint. They are pretty noisy. Maybe he should get a personal injury lawyer and see if he can't launch a suit from inside his jail cell.