Datuk Ir Rosaline Ganendra v Datin Shalini Therese Amerasinghe
Catchwords
[1] In this civil action, the plaintiff seeks damages and injunctive relief against the defendant for allegedly defaming her. The plaintiff claims that the defendant made four defamatory statements in four separate emails ("impugned emails"), which were specifically directed at her and published to a select group of people. The allegations involved the plaintiff's conduct in managing the affairs of an Engineering Consultancy Practice. The defendant, however, claims that these emails aren't defamatory. In all she did, she was safeguarding the interests of the company. However, even if they can be construed as defamatory, which the defendant denies, she can still claim justification and qualified privilege. Taking into account the findings during the trial, the court concludes that the impugned emails are defamatory, as alleged by the plaintiff. The court also finds that the defendant is not entitled to rely on the defences of justification and qualified privilege because she has no legal interest in the affairs of the company. The plaintiff claims are allowed with costs.
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Judgment
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Read on eJudgmentSource: eJudgment (wa-23ncvc-9-02-2021)