Supreme Court case information
Listed below are the substantive Supreme Court cases for the year along with appeals still to be determined or cases awaiting hearing.
Information giving an overview of the case is included along with media releases and links to judgments being appealed when available.
All 2024 - 2014 Supreme Court cases dismissed or deemed to be dismissed where a notice of abandonment was received can be found here.
Transcripts for cases heard before the Supreme Court are included provided they are not suppressed. Transcripts from pre-trial hearings are not published until the final disposition of trial. These are unedited transcripts and they are not a formal record of the Court’s proceedings. The Ministry of Justice does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any material and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use.
23 December 2024
Case information summary 2024 (as at 23 December 2024) – Cases where leave granted (126 KB)
Case information summary 2024 (as at 23 December 2024) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 116 KB)
All years
Case name
McGrath & Forde v The Queen
Case number
SC 30/2005
Summary
Whether the applicant should be permitted to make an application for leave for direct appeal from the High Court to the Supreme Court out of time - whether the Court of Appeal wrongly held in an application for leave to appeal similar to that of the applicant that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal under s 379A(1)(aa) of the Crimes Act 1961 because, in substance, the application did not involve a challenge to the admissibility of evidence - whether the High Court judge erred in ruling certain evidence admissible despite the applicant's submission that the quality of the evidence had been affected by the way in which it was obtained - whether the High Court judge erred in refusing to grant severance and in determining the degree of evidence as to collusion or contamination required before severance will be granted. CRI 2004 009 002464, 11 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
27 July 2005
27 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
M and F V R SC 30 & 32/2005 [27 July 2005] (PDF, 19 KB)
Case name
Ramon Dirk Johannes de Mey v The Queen
Case number
SC 31/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against decision of the Court of Appeal upholding conviction for common assault - whether there was a miscarriage of justice resulting from insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. CA 169/04 17 December 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
29 June 2005
29 June 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
DE MEY V R SC SC 31/2005 [29 June 2005] (PDF, 14 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
M & F v The Queen
Case number
SC 32/2005
Summary
Whether the applicant should be permitted to make an application for leave for direct appeal from the High Court to the Supreme Court out of time - whether the Court of Appeal wrongly held in an application for leave to appeal similar to that of the applicant that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal under s 379A (1)(aa) of the Crimes Act 1961 because, in substance, the application did not involve a challenge to the admissibility of evidence - whether the High Court judge erred in ruling certain evidence admissible despite the applicant's submission that the quality of the evidence had been affected by the way in which it was obtained - whether the High Court judge erred in refusing to grant severance and in determining the degree of evidence as to collusion or contamination required before severance will be granted. CRI 2003 009 012476, 11 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed.
27 July 2005
27 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
M and F V R SC 30 & 32/2005 [27 July 2005] (PDF, 19 KB)
Case name
David John Young v Land Transport Safety Authority
Case number
SC 33/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against the decision of the High Court - leave to appeal refused by the Court of Appeal - whether defence of self-defence correctly applied to facts. CRI 2004 409 000196, 29 November 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 27 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Paul Burke and Gillian Burke v The Western Bay of Plenty District Council
Case number
SC 34/2005
Summary
Enforcement of contracts - whether there was an agreement to pay the compensation claimed. Supreme Court procedure - whether there a re exceptional circumstances justifying the granting of leave to appeal pursuant to s 14 Supreme Court Act 2003, in circumstances where the Court of Appeal has declined leave to appeal to that Court . CIV 2003 470 356, 18 September 2004
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. Costs to respondent $2,000 plus disbursement is to be fixed if necessary.
13 July 2005
13 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Gulf Harbour Investments Limited v Gulf Corporation Limited & Auckland Property Group Limited
Case number
SC 35/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that there had been no valid exercise of an option requiring the transfer of certain land - whether the Court should have departed from the approach in Reporoa Stores Ltd v Treloar and adopted the test of whether a reasonable person would have fairly understood the option to have been exercised. CA 145/04 25 May 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
8 July 2005
8 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Ada Sharon Pue v The Queen
Case number
SC 36/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal against sentence - whether well-being of offender’ s school-age children given insufficient weight - whether minimum sentence of imprisonment justified under s 86(3) of the Sentencing Act 2002. CA 78/04 19 May 2005
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 10 August 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
ADA SHARON PUE V R SC SC 36/2005 10 August 2005 (PDF, 15 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Body Corporate No 164980 v Paul John Velich
Case number
SC 37/2005
Summary
Unit Titles Act 1972 - Whether a body corporate rule which replaces a default rule under the Act is ultra vires when it appreciably expands the existing powers and duties of the Body Corporate - What the proper test is for determining whether or not any particular rule is "incidental to existing powers or duties" - Whether the replacement rule in fact "appreciably" expanded the powers given to the Body Corporate under the existing default rule. CA 116/04 19 May 2005
Result
Notice of abandonment of application being lodged, the application is deemed to be dismissed. 15 July 2005
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Pimthong Udompun v Minister of Immigration and New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 38/2005
Summary
Bill of Rights - Whether a failure to make a properly qualified interpreter available is a breach of s27(1) NZBORA - Whether the handing to a detainee a form in the detainee's native language setting out her NZBORA rights satisfied her rights under s23(1) - Whether a Baigent's award of $4000 for breach of s23(5) NZBORA is distinctly inadequate in the circumstances - Whether, having established a breach of the NZBORA, the authority concerned should fully meet reasonable indemnity costs and disbursements - Whether award should be with interest from the date of the breach. CA 244/03 26 May 2005
Result
Application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 9 February 2006
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Transcript
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Transotway Limited v Iain Bruce Shephard and Christine Margaret Dunphy
Case number
SC 39/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - whether the Court of Appeal arred in concluding that the discharge of a debt by way of set-off through provision of a client list to the applicant was "a payment of money" in terms of s 292(1)(e) of the Companies Act 1993 - whether s 310 of the Companies Act which provides for set-off of mutual debts in liquidation was applicable - whether a substance based approach, which considers the transaction in the context of the agreement as a whole, was applied.
CA 98/04 13 June 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted
31 August 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
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