Court of Appeal judge Zamani A Rahim said the appeal by 372 settlers from Felda Serting Hilir, Jempol, had no merit.
“There is no error committed by the High Court that warrants appellate intervention,” said Zamani, who delivered the judgment of the three-man bench.
Bench chairman Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim later awarded costs of RM100,000 to the defendants, Felda and Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd.
The other judge on the panel was Zaleha Yusof.
In the High Court, trial judge Zabariah Yusof had ordered costs of RM372,000.
The court ruled that each defendant contribute RM1,000.
After today’s ruling, the total cost payable to the defendants is RM470,000.
Earlier, lawyer Mohd Hafarizam Harun applied for costs of RM100,000 to serve as a deterrent to the litigants.
“Moreover, a lot of preparation was made to argue the case during appeal and filing submission,” he said.
Lawyer Sivarasa Rasiah, who appeared for the settlers, told reporters he was disappointed with the outcome, especially on the order of costs.
“It is punitive in nature,” he said.
He said he would go through the written judgment before deciding whether to file an appeal in the Federal Court.
A total of 766 settlers in two Felda schemes filed the suit in 2010, but the number subsequently dwindled due to deaths and the withdrawal of some as plaintiffs.
In their suit, they claimed the authorities had underpaid them with lower grade rates when the extraction of oil from palm fruits were of superior quality.
The settlers alleged that this fraud and breach of trust had been going on for the last 15 years.
Zabariah, who dismissed the suit in 2015, said the settlers had failed to prove their case on the balance of probability.