The Supreme Court in Suva has dismissed a defamation case appeal filed by a landlord against his former tenant, a doctor based in Nadi. The court ordered the landlord, Dr Uma Sharma, to pay the former tenant, Dr Isireli Biumaitotoya, also known as Leighly Darling, $10,000 on June 28.
The judgment was delivered by Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo, Justice Lowell Goddard, and Justice William Young. This case has seen multiple legal battles since Dr Sharma first sued Dr Biumaitotoya for defamation in 2012. In 2019, the High Court in Lautoka had ordered Dr Biumaitotoya to pay a $70,000 fine to Dr Sharma.
Dr Biumaitotoya’s solicitor, Anil Singh, successfully challenged this ruling at the Court of Appeal in Suva, leading to the case being taken to the Supreme Court for further review. Dr Sharma sought permission to appeal and extend the time for doing so, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dr Biumaitotoya, dismissing the appeal and ordering the payment to him.
The defamation case began when Dr Biumaitotoya allegedly sent emails to 144 doctors in 2019, which contained statements about properties potentially going into receivership and details of Dr Sharma’s marital issues. The High Court initially awarded Dr Sharma $70,000 in general damages plus $29,400 in interest.
The Court of Appeal reviewed the contents of the email and found that it was not defamatory. Justice Temo critiqued the original ruling by Justice Jude Nanayakkara, noting that the trial should have considered the truth of the allegations. The Court of Appeal failed to engage with the text of the email or the specific meanings attributed to it, leading to the incorrect conclusion that the email was not defamatory.
Dr Biumaitotoya’s evidence was considered credible, and many of Dr Sharma’s responses during cross-examination were deemed evasive. Evidence suggested that Dr Sharma engaged in direct harassment tactics, including placing a fish shop next to Dr Biumaitotoya’s surgery, welding the backdoor shut, and erecting a steel barricade.
The Supreme Court found that while Dr Biumaitotoya might have been unwise in how he handled his rent payments, Dr Sharma’s actions, influenced by his personal marital problems, made him a bad landlord. Consequently, the court granted leave to appeal but dismissed the appeal application, ordering Dr Sharma to pay costs to Dr Biumaitotoya.