Suit: Neighbor's electronics cause illness

SANTA FE, N.M., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A New Mexico man's lawsuit against his neighbor claims her refusal to switch off her cellphone makes him ill due to electromagnetic sensitivity.

Arthur Firstenberg filed a lawsuit Monday in Santa Fe District Court alleging neighbor Raphaela Monribot, whose house is only 25 feet from Firstenberg's, refused his requests to turn off her cellphone, wireless computer network and other electronic devices he said aggravate his electromagnetic sensitivity, or EMS, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Friday.

The plaintiff "cannot stay in a hotel, because hotels and motels all employ Wi-Fi connections, which trigger a severe illness," lawyer Lindsay Lovejoy said in a request for a preliminary injunction. "If (Firstenberg) cannot obtain preliminary relief, he will be forced to continue to sleep in his car, enduring winter cold and discomfort, until this case can be heard."

Firstenberg wrote in an affidavit that Montribot "agreed to phase out the fluorescent lights" but would not replace dimmer switches or turn off her iPhone and computer when not in use.

"All of these devices emitted electromagnetic radiation and triggered my EMS with life-threatening reactions, which included a heart arrhythmia," he wrote.

The New Mexican said Montribot declined to comment on the lawsuit Thursday.