The Supreme Court in Suva has dismissed an appeal in a defamation case filed by a landlord. The court ordered the landlord to pay his former tenant, a Nadi-based doctor, $10,000 on June 28.
The landlord, dentist Dr. Uma Sharma, and the former tenant, Dr. Isireli Biumaitotoya, also known as Leighly Darling, appeared before Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo, Justice Lowell Goddard, and Justice William Young for the judgment.
Dr. Sharma initially sued Dr. Biumaitotoya for defamation in 2012. In 2019, the High Court in Lautoka ordered Dr. Biumaitotoya to pay a $70,000 fine to Dr. Sharma. However, Dr. Biumaitotoya’s solicitor, Anil Singh, filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Suva, which was granted.
Dr. Sharma sought leave to appeal and an extension of time to do so at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dr. Biumaitotoya, dismissing Dr. Sharma’s appeal and ordering the payment to Dr. Biumaitotoya.
Background:
The original case began with the High Court in Lautoka ordering Dr. Biumaitotoya to pay Dr. Sharma $70,000 in general damages and $29,400 in interest for defaming Dr. Sharma in an email in 2019. Dr. Biumaitotoya’s email to 144 doctors allegedly detailed that Dr. Sharma’s property might go into receivership and included information about Dr. Sharma’s marital problems, dissuading them from renting the premises.
The High Court case was first filed in 2012, and Justice Jude Nanayakkara delivered a ruling on May 7, 2019. The court had ordered Dr. Biumaitotoya to vacate the premises and pay the damages within 14 days, with additional interest and potential further claims under indemnity costs.
Determination:
The Court of Appeal examined the email’s contents and determined that it was not defamatory. Justice Temo disagreed with Justice Nanayakkara’s judgment, stating that the truth of the allegations was a significant issue, and justification had been raised too late in the trial.
Justice Temo also noted that the Court of Appeal’s judgment did not adequately analyze the email’s content and did not appropriately determine if it was defamatory based on ordinary language use.
Furthermore, Justice Temo found Dr. Biumaitotoya’s evidence credible, including instances of harassment by Dr. Sharma, such as arranging for a fish shop to open next to Dr. Biumaitotoya’s surgery and welding shut the surgery’s backdoor.
The evidence regarding Dr. Sharma’s engagement over his wife’s supposed lover and other incidents pointed to Dr. Sharma’s direct involvement. The court concluded that Dr. Sharma’s marital issues and subsequent actions made him a bad landlord.
Justice Temo granted leave to appeal, dismissed the appeal application, and ordered Dr. Sharma to pay costs to Dr. Biumaitotoya.