Fiji Fashion Week and Ellen Whippy Knight v. Emosi Radrodro

Facts
Emosi Radrodro, a former radio personality, published a series of posts on his Facebook pages alleging that Ellen Whippy-Knight, the Managing Director of Fiji Fashion Week, was involved in morally inappropriate conduct. The posts specifically accused her of arranging encounters between young models and wealthy older men. Fiji Fashion Week and Whippy-Knight subsequently filed a defamation lawsuit against Radrodro, arguing that the false and damaging allegations had harmed her personal reputation and that of the business.

Legal Question
Did the Facebook posts published by Emosi Radrodro contain statements that were defamatory towards Ellen Whippy-Knight and Fiji Fashion Week? Were the plaintiffs entitled to damages for the harm caused to their reputations?

Decision
The court found that Radrodro had made defamatory statements on his Facebook pages alleging that Whippy-Knight was involved in morally inappropriate conduct by allegedly arranging encounters between young models and wealthy older men. The Civil High Court ruled in favor of Fiji Fashion Week and its Managing Director Ellen Whippy-Knight, awarding damages for defamatory comments made on social media by Emosi Radrodro. The Suva High Court has ordered former radio personality Emosi Radrodro to pay $10,000 to the Managing Director of Fiji Fashion Week, Ellen Whippy Knight for defaming her on Facebook. Radrodro has also been ordered to pay $2,500 to Fiji Fashion Week. The Court has also ordered Fiji Fashion Week to pay a sum of $2, 000 to Radrodro.

This case represents an early example of a Fijian high court applying traditional defamation law to social media content, establishing that individuals can be held liable for reputational harm caused by online posts and setting a precedent for the legal accountability of digital speech.