PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today dismissed a businesswoman’s application to get leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision, which had overturned a High Court order requiring CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd (CTOS) to pay her RM200,000 over an inaccurate credit rating. The leave application by a resort director Suriati Mohd Yusof, 43, was rejected by a three-judge panel led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court Judges Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the judges unanimously agreed that the proposed questions of law did not meet the threshold requirement under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act (CJA) 1964, leading to the dismissal of the application. Justice Abang Iskandar stated during the online proceedings that Suriati is required to pay the cost of RM30,000.

Suriati’s legal representation, Nizam Basir, argued that the court should consider five questions of law, asserting that these addre
ssed whether a customer could take action against a credit reporting agency if their credit score was demonstrated to be inaccurate or misleading. However, lawyer Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, representing CTOS, countered that the questions were not novel.

To secure leave for a Federal Court appeal, an applicant must show that the appeal raises new legal or constitutional questions of public importance that have not been previously considered and need further debate. In March, the Kuala Lumpur High Court had ordered CTOS to pay RM200,000 to Suriati due to an inaccurate credit rating, citing a breach of duty of care. However, in July, the Court of Appeal overturned this decision, ruling that there was no defamation, negligence, or breach of statutory duty by CTOS.

The Court of Appeal also deemed the High Court’s decision to award damages to Suriati as incorrect. Suriati, previously the director and shareholder of Keranji Beach Resort Sdn Bhd in Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, had sued CTOS for negligence and brea
ch of fiduciary duty, claiming that the misrepresentation of her credit rating led to personal and business setbacks and damaged her reputation.

In May 2019, she discovered that her car loan application was denied due to a negative report from CTOS. Further investigation revealed that CTOS had inaccurately recorded her data, resulting in an unfavourable credit rating.