A University City woman is suing her neighbors claiming they have harassed and abused her for years because she's Middle Eastern.
From the outside, the case appears to be a neighborhood dispute stemming from a concrete wall on a shared property line.
Nicole Chaker is suing neighbors Tony Troxel, Barbara Bolla and Sarah Bolla claiming elder abuse, assault and battery and false imprisonment.
The defendants claim Chaker is delusional and the accusations are false.
Jurors heard opening statements in the civil jury trial Tuesday morning in a downtown San Diego courtroom.
On Nov. 23, 2005, Chaker claims Troxel pounded on her back door, pushed her and called her a “dirty f---ing Arab.”
Then, in October 2008, Chaker was in her yard watering plants when she claims Sarah Bolla called her an “Arab bitch” and told her to go back to her country. When the two women argued, Chaker sprayed a garden hose in Bolla’s direction. Barbara Bolla joined in the argument and sprayed water on Chaker according to the plaintiff’s court filing.
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At this point, Chaker describes how she got into her van to leave and claims Troxel threw a piece of wood at the vehicle and tried to block her van with a garbage can.
In March 2010, Chaker was placed under a citizen's arrest after a disagreement with her neighbors over the brick wall that divides the two homes, but was not charged. She claims she was physically and emotionally injured during the arrest.
Defense attorneys believe San Diego police should be named in the suit if Chaker were injured in custody.
Darren Chaker testified today. He says he installed four security cameras on his mother’s house after the situation with the neighbors began to escalate.
“They never knew that my mother was actually Egyptian and subsequently after the 9/11 attacks, harsh comments were made. People lie, evidence doesn’t…the video speaks for itself.”
The plaintiff claims the hatred growing between the two sides is rooted in the defendant's racial slurs that began after the attacks of 9/11.
The plaintiff’s son, Darren Chaker, said his mother is 74 years old and doesn’t deserve the way she has been treated.
Jurors will hear more testimony after the 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
