73
LIHUE >> A man with a bee allergy is suing his neighbor, saying there’s little difference to him between a bee and a bullet.
Luis Soltren of Wailua Homesteads on the island of Kauai was in court Monday suing his beekeeping neighbor for about $2,000 in bills he incurred during hospital trips to treat two stings, the Garden Island reported.
“When someone is allergic to bees,” Soltren said, “they can kill them.”
In his small claims case, Soltren seeks up to $5,000 in damages.
The neighbor, Kauai police officer Jesse Castro, said his bees didn’t sting Soltren. He said he was in the process of removing the hives when Soltren complained to the county about proper permitting in a residential neighborhood.
“We did comply with the law,” Castro said, saying arrangements were made to remove the bees.
Soltren said he was stung in June 2014 and in 2011. He said Castro knew of his allergy when he was stung the first time. Castro said he learned his neighbor was allergic after last year’s stinging.
Castro said he used to have a good relationship with Soltren, but it disintegrated after he declined to invest in a property of Soltren.
Castro’s attorney, Patrick Childs, plans to call an expert witness when the case picks back up on June 26.
“It’s just painful,” he said after the hearing about the relationship between the two sides. “They’re unhappy neighbors.”
