The Supreme Court in Suva has dismissed an appeal in a defamation case brought by a landlord and has ordered the landlord to pay his former tenant, a Nadi-based doctor, $10,000. The judgment was delivered on June 28.
The landlord, dentist Dr. Uma Sharma, and the former tenant, Dr. Isireli Biumaitotoya, known as Leighly Darling, appeared before Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo, Justice Lowell Goddard, and Justice William Young. This case dates back to 2012 when Dr. Sharma sued Dr. Biumaitotoya for defamation. Initially, in 2019, the High Court in Lautoka had ruled that Dr. Biumaitotoya pay $70,000 to Dr. Sharma. However, Dr. Biumaitotoya’s solicitor, Anil Singh, challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal in Suva and won.
Dr. Sharma then sought to appeal at the Supreme Court, which ended in favor of Dr. Biumaitotoya, dismissing Dr. Sharma’s appeal and ordering him to pay Dr. Biumaitotoya.
The defamation charges stemmed from an email sent by Dr. Biumaitotoya to 144 doctors, suggesting that Dr. Sharma’s property might go into receivership and sharing personal details about Dr. Sharma’s marital issues, thereby dissuading them from renting the premises. The High Court had ordered Dr. Biumaitotoya to pay $70,000, alongside additional interests, within 14 days of the judgment delivered on May 7, 2019.
Upon appeal, the Court of Appeal reviewed the email’s contents and determined it was not defamatory. Justice Temo criticized the previous ruling for not adequately addressing the truthfulness of the allegations. The Court of Appeal’s analysis was said to be insufficient, not engaging thoroughly with the email’s content and its attributed meanings.
Additionally, the Supreme Court noted that Dr. Sharma had engaged in actions perceived as harassment, such as placing a fish shop next to Dr. Biumaitotoya’s surgery and welding his surgery’s backdoor shut. The court regarded Dr. Sharma as an unsuitable landlord due to his personal problems interfering with his professional responsibilities.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision, dismissed Dr. Sharma’s appeal, and ordered him to pay costs to Dr. Biumaitotoya.