THE Court of Appeal has ordered Labasa businessman Saifud Din to pay $28,175.22 in unpaid interest and costs stemming from a 2010 personal injury lawsuit involving a motor vehicle accident.
A three-judge panel comprising Justice Walton Morgan, Justice Pamela Andrews, and Justice Robert Dobson issued the order on September 25, 2026, setting aside an earlier ex-parte ruling against Mr Din while enforcing the agreed outstanding debt owed to accident victim Abdul Irshad Khan.
The case originated from a 2014 Labasa High Court judgment that awarded Mr Khan $164,028.70 plus 4 per cent annual interest after he sustained injuries while travelling in a vehicle owned by Mr Din and driven negligently by his employee.
Following appeals, the Court of Appeal in 2017 reduced the damages award to $153,108.70, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Mr Din subsequently paid $155,608.70, which Mr Khan’s solicitors accepted as part-payment towards the total judgment sum, interest, and legal costs.
When Mr Khan filed a summons seeking the remaining balance, a single appellate judge granted the order ex-parte in August 2023.
Mr Din applied to set aside that ruling, arguing he was never served and that it denied natural justice.
During appellate proceedings, Mr Din conceded that the earlier payment was not in full settlement and accepted the recalculated figure of $28,175.22.
The Court of Appeal set aside the 2023 ex-parte ruling due to procedural irregularity but ordered Mr Din to pay the $28,175.22 to Mr Khan within 30 days.
