High Court to hear $3m Fiji Airways charter claim in April

The Civil High Court in Suva has set April 9 as the trial date for three applications relating to more than $3 million allegedly owed to Fiji Airways.

The case centres on claims that a charter flight which took Fijian pilgrims to Israel on a religious tour in 2023 failed to pay the airfare.

The matter was mentioned before Acting Master Liyanage Wickramasekera on Friday, where all parties confirmed their readiness to proceed to hearing.

The defendants include WABS Pacific Pte Limited and Kane Holdings Pte Limited director Michael Martin Mausio, two trustees of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, and Christian Mission Fellowship International senior pastor Manasa Kolivuso.

Four applications are before the High Court. Three relate directly to the dispute, while a fourth is a joinder application filed by Mr Kolivuso’s legal team seeking to include the Government in the proceedings.

Acting Master Wickramasekera told lawyer Pita Niubalavu that the joinder application is set down for ruling on February 18 and will not affect the trial process at this stage.

The three substantive applications are:

• Summary judgment – Fiji Airways is seeking a finding that the charter flight organisers have no reasonable defence and is asking the court to order payment of $3,163,013.70, plus interest and costs.

• Strike-out application – Two International Christian Embassy Jerusalem trustees are seeking to be removed from the proceedings, claiming they were not affiliated with the charter flight.

• Striking out of the writ – Fiji Airways is opposing the third defendant’s application to strike out the writ.

All parties are scheduled to reappear in court on February 18 for the joinder application before the matter proceeds to trial.