Christopher Carter, 44, is charged with dumping Stuart Sugarman, a 48-year-old hedge fund manager, off of his stationary bike during a spinning class last summer.

The New York Post said the confrontation resulted from Carter's growing annoyance at Sugarman's whooping and yelling during the class. Sugarman claims he suffered a seriously herniated disc in the confrontation.

Carter's lawyer claimed in opening statements Tuesday that Sugarman's bellicose attitude caused the trouble.

"You will hear how Mr. Sugarman was boorish, was obnoxious, used obscenities, gave my client the finger," defense lawyer Michael Farkas told the jury.

But prosecutor Brigid Harrington responded that being annoying was no crime, particularly in the Big Apple.

"As New Yorkers, you've all been annoyed by someone," she said, adding, "What is not normal … is to punish them by assaulting them."