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{\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}\pard\plain \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 \fs20\lang1033\langfe1033\cgrid\langnp1033\langfenp1033 {\b\fs24\insrsid12146694\charrsid2623852 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FIJI}{
\b\fs24\insrsid1195420\charrsid2623852 
\par }{\b\fs24\insrsid12146694\charrsid2623852 AT SUVA
\par ON APPEAL FROM THE FIJI COURT OF APPEAL
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694\charrsid1144406 CIVIL APPEAL NO. C}{\fs24\ul\insrsid1144406 BV}{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694\charrsid1144406 0006 OF 1994
\par }{\fs24\insrsid12146694 (Fiji Court of Appeal Civil No. 3 of 92)
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 BETWEEN:
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\b\fs24\insrsid12146694\charrsid2623852 SURESH SUSHIL CHANDRA CHARAN
\par ANURADHA CHARAN
\par }{\fs24\insrsid1144406 Appellants}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 AND:
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\b\fs24\insrsid12146694\charrsid2623852 SUVA CITY COUNCIL
\par }{\fs24\insrsid12146694 Respondents
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 Coram:}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  The Hon. Sir Timoci Tuivaga, President
\par The Right Hon. Lord Cooke of Thorndon
\par The Hon. Sir Anthony Mason
\par 
\par }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 Hearing:}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  4 September 1996
\par 
\par }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 Counsel:}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  Appellant in person
\par R. Gopal for Respondent
\par 
\par }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 Judgment:}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  12 September 1996
\par 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\b\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\b\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 
\par }{\fs24\insrsid12146694 By an application filed on 27 November 1995 the appellant}{\fs24\insrsid3504570 s}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  seek to have set aside th}{\fs24\insrsid3504570 is}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
 Court's judgment delivered on 24 November 1995 and ask for rehearing of the appeal.
\par 
\par A court of final appeal may set aside a judgment of it own in rare and exceptional cases. The relevant principles were stated as follows by Mason C.J. in }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694\charrsid3504570 Autodesk Inc.}{\fs24\insrsid12146694\charrsid3504570  v. }
{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694\charrsid3504570 Dyason}{\fs24\insrsid3504570  (No. 2) (1993) 176 C}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 LR 300, 302:
\par }\pard \ql \li720\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin720\itap0\pararsid12146694 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \ql \li700\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin700\itap0\pararsid15166701 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
"These examples indicate that the public interest in the finality of litigation will not preclude the exceptional step of reviewing or rehearing an issue when a court has good reason to
 consider that, in its earlier judgment, it has proceeded on a misapprehension as to the facts or the law. As this Court is a final court of appeal, there is no reason for it to confine the exercise of its jurisdiction in a way that would inhibit its capa
city to rectify what it }{\fs24\insrsid686813 perceives}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  to be an apparent error arising from some miscarriage in its judgment. However, it must be emphasized that the jurisdiction is not to be }{\fs24\insrsid686813 exercised}{
\fs24\insrsid12146694  for the purpose of re-agitating arguments already considered by the Court; nor is it to be }{\fs24\insrsid686813 exercised}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
 simply because the party seeking a rehearing has failed to present the argument in all its aspects or as well as it might have been put. What must energe, in order to enliven the exercise of the jurisdiction, is that the Court has 
apparently proceeded according to some misapprehension of the facts or the }{\fs24\insrsid686813 relevant}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
 law and that this misapprehension cannot be attributed sorely to the neglect or default of the party seeking the rehearing. The purpose of the jurisdiction is not to provid
e a backdoor method by which unsuccessful litigants can seek to re argue their cases."
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid15166701 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\fs24\insrsid12146694 Having heard full argument from Mr Charan in support of the application, this Court is satisfied that it does not fall within those principles.
\par 
\par The case concerns damages for an unlawful distress. On an appeal from the award of the trial Judge, Scott J., the Court of Appeal increased his award of exemplary damages from $1,000 to $3,000 (with }{\fs24\insrsid686813 interest}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
) but otherwise left his total award of $14,461 (with }{\fs24\insrsid686813 interest}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
) standing. In our own judgment of 24 November 1995 a further appeal was dismissed. We said that we had been unable to detect any significant error of law or fact on which the Supreme Court could properly interfere. We also cited a passage fro
m the speech of Lord Du Parcq in }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 Monarch Shipping Co. Ltd. }{\fs24\insrsid12146694 v. }{\fs24\ul\insrsid12146694 A/B Karlshamns}{\fs24\insrsid3504570  [1949] All }{\fs24\insrsid12146694 ER}{\fs24\insrsid3504570  }{
\fs24\insrsid12146694 1, 19, to the effect that the assessment of damages is in the end a question of fact and that there is no }{\fs24\insrsid686813 absolute}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  general rule applicable to all cases.
\par 
\par In his }{\fs24\insrsid686813 argument}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  before this Court on 4 September 1996 Mr Charan said that he accepted Lord Du Par}{\fs24\insrsid686813 c}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 q's observations. Nevertheless he }{\fs24\insrsid686813 contended
}{\fs24\insrsid12146694  that some applicable principles had not been followed in the Courts below.
\par 
\par It became clear that Mr Charan was attempting to re-argue arguments that had been presented by him to this Court in November 1995.
\par 
\par For example, in the forefront of his argument on 4 September 1996 Mr Charan put a submission that in this case the value of chattels should be assessed at the date of judgme
nt, not at the date of conversion. There was nothing new in this submission. The Court of Appeal had rejected it by pointing out that the Judge had awarded substantially the full value claimed in the statement of claim and that the }{
\fs24\insrsid13504093 notice of appeal h}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 ad not
 specified that this was wrong. We note that the total value alleged in the statement of claim was $13,461.83 and that the award on this head was $13,461.00. The statement in our previous }{\fs24\insrsid8198330 
judgment that we could detect no significant error of law or fact entitling as to intervene applied to this part of the C}{\fs24\insrsid686813 o}{\fs24\insrsid8198330 urt of Appeal's judgment as well as all other parts.}{\fs24\insrsid12146694 
\par }{\fs24\insrsid8198330 
\par Our previous judgment concluded by indicating that we did not consider that any injustice had been done to the appellants. The further argument has 
not altered our opinion. No grounds for re-opening the case have been shown. The application must be dismissed with costs.
\par 
\par It is a fundamental }{\fs24\insrsid686813 principle}{\fs24\insrsid8198330  that there must be an end to litigation. }{\i\fs24\insrsid8198330 Interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium.}{\fs24\insrsid8198330  The appellants have had their day in Court 
\endash  indeed many days in all in three Courts \endash  and they must accept }{\fs24\insrsid686813 that this}{\fs24\insrsid8198330  case is }{\fs24\insrsid686813 at an end.}{\fs24\insrsid8198330 
\par 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid13504093 {\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 Sir Timoci Tuivaga
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid13504093 {\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid13504093 {\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 Lord Cooke of Thor}{\b\fs24\insrsid686813 nd}{\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 on
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid13504093 {\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 
\par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid13504093 {\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 Sir Anthony Mason
\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3504570 {\b\fs24\insrsid8198330 
\par }{\fs24\ul\insrsid8198330 Solicitors:
\par }{\fs24\ul\insrsid686813 
\par }{\fs24\insrsid8198330 Office Solicitor, Suva Council, Suva, for Respondent.}{\fs24\insrsid8198330\charrsid8198330 
\par }}