A legal entanglement has surfaced for a Florida attorney following accusations of assaulting an elderly man aboard a cruise ship docked in Miami.

According to an arrest affidavit examined by Law&Crime, 38-year-old Phillip Andrew Ortiz is accused of shoving his victim amid a dispute on the Norwegian Encore cruise vessel this past Saturday. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office reported that Ortiz and the 67-year-old man were passengers on the ship when a verbal altercation escalated into physical violence shortly before 2 p.m.

The confrontation began, as stated by the victim, when Ortiz attempted to access a hallway that was not yet available to passengers, prompting the victim to caution him against proceeding, as detailed in the affidavit.

Ortiz allegedly retorted with, “Who the f— are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?” before forcefully pushing the older gentleman. The man recounted to investigators that in response, he endeavored to push Ortiz away, only to have Ortiz’s female companion also shove him.

The affidavit further detailed that when the victim retaliated, it provoked Ortiz, leading him to attack once more.

According to the victim, Ortiz then “entered the secured hallway” anyway. The older man told investigators that “he attempted to push the door closed so that [Ortiz] could not return.”

Ortiz then allegedly forced the door open and “charged at the victim.”

A physical fight followed, during which Ortiz allegedly “tripped the victim, who landed on his head along with [Ortiz’s] full body weight, causing him to lose consciousness.”

Ortiz then allegedly fled the scene, “making no attempt to render aid,” the affidavit said.

Passengers administered CPR and eventually revived the passenger, who was taken to an area hospital. The victim’s account of events matched security footage from the ship, the affidavit notes.

Officials later tracked down Ortiz and, according to the affidavit, provided him with “a Miranda right[s] form, which he refused to sign.” Ortiz also allegedly refused to speak with detectives.

“The defendant had the opportunity to end this confrontation, but chose to force his way back into the area and continue his aggression towards the victim,” the affidavit says, noting that Ortiz was then arrested “without incident” and taken into custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami.

Ortiz’s lawyer, Stephan Lopez, said there is more to the story than what’s indicated on the affidavit.

“The so called elderly person is bigger [and] stronger than my client,” attorney Stephan Lopez said in a statement to People. “[He] was already drunk prior to the ship departing and he instigated and initiated the aggression amongst other things, assaulting my client’s wife and preventing access to their children 6 and 14 by, without authority, closing a door behind them and preventing access.”

Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer appeared to agree that the initial felony charge of aggravated battery on a person 65 or older was not warranted.

“I don’t find this to be an aggravated battery,” Glazer said during Ortiz’s probable cause hearing on Monday, according to local news station WPLG. The judge reportedly noted that there were no indications the victim had suffered “permanent injuries” from the confrontation.

Lopez hinted that Norwegian may be in his client’s sights after the incident.

“The judge correctly made a finding there was no aggravated felony and there is a self defense claim,” Lopez said, according to People. “My client is a VIP guest and Norwegian had a duty to protect him and his family, but it didn’t.”

Norwegian said in a statement that the victim is 67 years old.

“We have zero-tolerance for violence of any kind on our ships and are committed to providing a safe cruising experience for all aboard,” the statement said, according to People.

Florida Bar records show that Ortiz has been licensed to practice law in the Sunshine State since 2012 and is a partner with the Firm Law Group in Miami Lakes.