Court of Appeal overturns ruling

THE Court of Appeal has set aside a ruling made by the High Court in Lautoka that ordered the payment of about $100,000 in a defamation case.

Doctor Isireli Biumaitotoya was ordered to pay $70,000 in general damages and $29,400 in interest for defaming another doctor, Uma Dutt Sharma.

In his November 25 ruling, Court of Appeal judge Justice Almeida Guneratne said Dr Biumaitotoya had sent an email to 144 dental doctors that was “confined to a close professional community”.

“This was not some irresponsible media gunslinger firing rhetorical shots to discredit someone. The appellant was airing his discontent and treatment he had received as a tenant,” he said.

“Taken cumulatively, the evidence of the said two witnesses, all what they said was that they felt ‘disgusted’ (Mr Raju — the 1st witness) and ‘was upset and felt rotten about it’ (Re: Rajendra Bali — the 2nd witness),” stated Justice Guneratne.

“The theme which those witnesses pursued was an admonition on the appellant’s conduct in sending the posting via email. Neither of them spoke one word on whether, on account of the said posting (that), in their minds, the reputation of the respondent had been lowered in their estimation.

“From this evidence it is plain as a pikestaff that, it is the appellant who had been lowered in the estimation of the said two witnesses and not the respondent. There was no evidence for the High Court to hold that the respondent’s reputation had been affected.

“On the evidence as recapped above, I could not see how his reputation in society in general (or even within the particular medical community) had got affected.

“The evidence of the two witnesses referred to earlier in this judgment in regard to an alleged adverse impact on the respondent’s reputation taken together with the alleged monetary loss left me with no doubt that, the ‘posting in question’ had in fact caused no damage.”