A Manly apartment building tenant has won an appeal against a judgment ordering her to pay $120,000 in defamation damages to a neighbour who claimed her email to fellow tenants implied he was a "small-minded busybody".

Gary Raynor, chair of the Watermark building's strata committee, sued fellow tenant Patricia Murray over a May 2017 email to him, other residents and her real estate agent in which she asked him to stop emailing her about locking her mailbox.

A strata committee wrangle at a Manly apartment block resulted in a court case. Credit:James Brickwood

His NSW District Court lawsuit claimed the email defamed him by implying he was a "small-minded busybody who wastes the time of fellow residents on petty items concerning the running of the Watermark building".

He said the email also suggested he unreasonably harassed Ms Murray and "acted menacingly" by "consistently threatening her by email".