Subscribe to the RSS feed Print this page

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.

24 June 2024

Case information summary 2024 (as at 21 June 2024) –  Cases where leave granted (121 KB)
Case information summary 2024 (as at 21 June 2024)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 125 KB)

All years

Case name
CF v The Queen
Case number
SC 27/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence and Procedure – Admissibility of evidence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its interpretation of the verb “to obtain” in the context of s 30(5) of the Evidence Act 2006 – Whether the Court erred in its decision not to exclude the statements made by the appellants on the ground of unfairness.CA 372/2011  [2012] NZCA 114
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
23 May 2012.
Case name
Robert Erwood v Janet Maxted and others
Case number
SC 28/2012
Summary
Procedure – High Court Rules – Inherent Jurisdiction – Whether Court of Appeal erred in upholding the Associate Judge’s finding that the High Court at Nelson was, in the circumstances, the most convenient Court to deal with the issues raised in the bankruptcy notice – Whether a litigation guardian should have been appointed to assist the applicant – Bankruptcy – Whether a bankruptcy notice should have been issued against a person known to be solvent.CA 567/2007  [2012] NZCA 110
Dates

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
The applicant is to pay costs of $5,000 to the respondents, plus all reasonable disbursements, to be fixed if necessary by the Registrar. 

3 October 2012.
Case name
Jason Lloyd Jones v The Queen
Case number
SC 29/2012
Summary
Criminal – Sentencing – Rape – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in raising the applicant’s sentence from 9.5 years to 13 years – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that a finding of ‘ significant premeditation’ in sexual offending was not restricted to the existence of a fixed intention to have non-consensual-sex prior to the offending, and that an offence would be ‘significantly’ premeditated where there was an intent to have sexual connection with the victims regardless of whether consent was forthcoming – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the victim’s consent to sexual activity with the applicant’ s co-offender prior to the rape was not relevant to sentencing – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the lower Court’s 6 month reduction for ‘previous good conduct, family circumstances and the shame experienced’ was inappropriate in light of his past offending and repeated denial of the rape. CA 376/2011  [2012] NZCA 27
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
18 June 2012.
Case name
Richard Grant Simpson & Timothy Wilson Downes as receivers of Capital + Merchant Investments Limited (In Receivership) v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 30/2012
Summary
CA 361/2011  [2012] NZCA 126
Dates

We grant leave to appeal.

The approved question is:

Were the applicants required to pay the GST on the sales to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue?

25 July 2012
Hearing
Notice of abandonment being filed, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
23 October 2012.
Case name
Reginald Robert Long v ANZ National Bank Limited
Case number
SC 31/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Appeal against summary judgment – Property Law Act 2007, s 176(1) – Whether Court of Appeal erred in its conclusion that mortgagee complied with duty to use reasonable care to obtain the best price reasonably obtainable – Whether Court of Appeal was correct that Respondent provided sufficient evidence to prove that there was no arguable defence against summary judgment. CA  708/2011  [2012] NZCA132
Dates

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.

Costs are reserved, with the respondent to submit a memorandum within seven days as to the costs sought and the applicant to reply within a further seven days.
4 July 2012.
Case name
Loktronic Industries Limited v Stephen John Diver and others
Case number
SC 32/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Tort – Evidence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its statement of the test for the element of knowledge in the tort of inducing breach of contract – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in overturning findings of fact that were open to the trial judge and not plainly wrong – Whether the Court of Appeal imposed a more onerous duty on the appellant in its cross-examination of its witnesses at trial than is consistent with s 92(1) of the Evidence Act 2006. CA  258/2011  [2012] NZCA131
Dates

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs of $1,000 payable to each set of respondents making submissions.

24 July 2012.
Case name
John George Russell v Commissioner of Inland  Revenue
Case number
SC 33/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Tax avoidance – Whether the applicant received a fair and impartial hearing – Whether the Court of Appeal was correct in its analysis of the evidence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the overall arrangement established and operated by the applicant had the purpose or effect of tax avoidance – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the applicant was a person affected by the arrangement and that he obtained a tax advantage – Whether the Court of Appeal was correct to find that the assessment made by the Commissioner would not be void even if it included income deemed by virtue of s 99(4) of the Income Tax Act 1976 to be the income of someone else.CA  654/2010  [2012] NZCA128
Dates
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
The applicant is to pay costs of $5,000 to the respondent Commissioner plus all reasonable disbursements to be fixed if necessary by the Registrar.
13 August 2012.
Case name
CAW v The Queen
Case number
SC 34/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Admissibility of evidence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that while the search of the property should have been brought to the attention of the issuing officer, the failure to do so was not material – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining that it would be inappropriate for the Court to make a finding of bad faith or deliberate omission in the absence of such a finding made by the District Court Judge – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining that the evidence was admissible.CA  710/2011  [2012] NZCA120
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 5 June 2012.
Case name
Jay Maui Wallace  v The Queen
Case number
SC 35/2012
Summary
Criminal law – Jurisdiction – Whether the courts of New Zealand have jurisdiction to try the applicant. CA  417/2011  [2012] NZCA139
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed
11 July 2012.
Case name
Manukau Golf Club Incorporated v Shoye Venture Limited
Case number
SC 36/2012
Summary
 CA  747/2011  [2012] NZCA154
Result

Leave to appeal is granted.

The approved questions are whether the Court of Appeal was wrong:

(i) to make no order for costs in respect of the appeal; and
(ii) to give no reasons.

19 July 2012

________________________

The appeal is allowed. 
The respondent must pay to the appellant, with respect to costs in the Court of Appeal, costs of $12,220, plus disbursements of $5,051.73. 
By agreement, no order as to costs in this Court. 

4 December 2012
Transcript

Hearing date : 4 October 2012

McGrath, William Young, Chambers, Glazebrook JJ.
Page 161 of 244