THE Republic of Fiji Military Forces has withdrawn its application to dismiss a civil lawsuit claim instituted by 5000 ex-servicemen.
As a result, the RFMF, along with the Home Affairs Minister and Attorney-General, have been given 21 days to file their statement of defence (SoD).
The defendants had requested a month to obtain appropriate instructions for the SoD, however, Acting Master of the High Court Liyanage Kashyapa Wickramasekara deemed the request unreasonable, considering they had two years to prepare.
The defendants have been instructed to submit their SoD within 21 days, while the plaintiffs would be required to respond within 14 days of submission.
The civil action arises from a dispute involving military personnel who served in peacekeeping missions in Lebanon.
The plaintiffs, represented by Suva lawyer Isireli Fa, allege their salaries were disbursed by the UN to the Government and that the defendants, including the military forces, received payments in a fiduciary and or trustee capacity on behalf of the plaintiffs. However, the plaintiffs contend the defendants failed to remit the full amount of the salaries to them and instead misappropriated the funds.
The Acting Master has also ordered the defendants to pay a total of $2000 by October.
In conclusion, he expressed hope the substantive matter could be dealt with without hiccups.
The case was adjourned to October 14.
