A Santa Fe resident's lawsuit involving electromagnetic sensitivity, increased heart rates and an iPhone continues to channel the bizarre.
On Aug. 8, the state's First Judicial District Court dismissed recent complaints from Arthur Firstenberg, who's suing his neighbor, Raphaela Monribot, over her use of wireless internet and an iPhone. Firstenberg claims he suffers from EMS, a condition with little peer-reviewed scientific evidence. His lawsuit claims Monribot's wireless and cell phone use gave him health problems, including a jump in his heart palpitations.
The court rejected compensating Firstenberg over damages and ordered that he and Monribot split the electrical connection in their homes, which they currently share. The court also ordered Firstenberg be subjected to a test to prove his claims that he can physically sense electrical devices when they're near him.
Although Firstenberg's complaints haven't yet received much legal ground, he's since filed a motion of relief to avoid the testing. Joseph Romero, a lawyer defending Monribo, says the test would disprove Firstenberg's off-kilter theories. Romero anticipates the court will reject the recent motion.
According to Romero, Firstenberg uses an AM transistor radio to prove radiation comes from Monrtibot's home and at one point went into Monribot's home to turn off her electricity "so he could sleep at night."
"My belief is he just wants to harass my client," Romero tells SFR. "They used to be friends. We're trying to have him successfully leave her alone."
