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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.

8 November 2024

Case information summary 2024 (as at 8 November 2024) –  Cases where leave granted (126 KB)
Case information summary 2024 (as at 8 November 2024)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 116 KB)

All years

Case name
Elizabeth Maria Bolea v The King
Case number
SC 25/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (Bolea v R [2023] NZCA 39).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
22 June 2023
__________________________________________________
A The appeal is allowed.
B The conviction for participating in an organised criminal group is quashed.
C The application for a discharge without conviction is remitted to the High Court for reconsideration.
3 May 2024
Date of hearing
31 October 2023
Judges
Glazebrook, O'Regan, Ellen France, Williams and Kós JJ
Submissions from counsel
Transcripts
Case Synopses
Media Releases
High Court decision
R v BOLEA [2022] NZHC 2998 [16 November 2022]
Court of Appeal decision
BOLEA v THE KING [2023] NZCA 39 [6 March 2023]
Leave judgment - leave granted
ELIZABETH MARIA BOLEA v R [2023] NZSC 72 [22 June 2023] (PDF, 130 KB)
Substantive judgment
ELIZABETH MARIA BOLEA v R [2024] NZSC 46 [3 May 2024] (PDF, 301 KB)
Case name
B (SC 26/2023) v C (SC 26/2023)
Case number
SC 26/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application to adduce new evidence in this Court is dismissed.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
15 May 2023
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
B (SC 26/2023) v C (SC 26/2023) [2023] NZSC 52 [15 May 2023] (PDF, 54 KB)
Case name
Raymond John Belsey v The King
Case number
SC 27/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is dismissed. 26 June 2023
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
BELSEY v R [2022] NZCA 484 [17 October 2022]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
RAYMOND JOHN BELSEY v R [2023] NZSC 75 [26 June 2023] (PDF, 154 KB)
Case name
Cresswell v Roberts
Case number
SC 28/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The applications for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal Roberts v Cresswell [2022] NZCA 625 and the Court of Appeal’s decision declining the application to adjourn the substantive hearing are dismissed.
B The application for leave to appeal (Roberts v Cresswell [2023] NZCA 36) is dismissed.
C There is no order as to costs.
25 May 2023
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
CRESSWELL v ROBERTS [2023] NZSC 62 [25 May 2023] (PDF, 214 KB)
Case name
Tanya Felicity Dunstan v New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 29/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The application for recusal is dismissed.
C The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $2,500.
17 May 2023

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 17 May 2023 (Dunstan v New Zealand Police [2023] NZSC 58) is dismissed.
21 June 2023
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
TANYA FELICITY DUNSTAN v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2023] NZSC 58 [17 May 2023] (PDF, 157 KB)
Recall judgment
TANYA FELICITY DUNSTAN v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2023] NZSC 71 [21 June 2023] (PDF, 173 KB)
Case name
Zhong Xing v Jicai Li and Fang Yu and Ors
Case number
SC 30/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
19 June 2023
______________________________________________________________

The applicant must pay the first to seventeenth and nineteenth respondents one set of costs of $1,000. 19 July 2023
Court of Appeal decision
ZHONG v LI AND ORS [2023] NZCA 18 [14 February 2023]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
ZHONG XING v JICAI LI AND FANG YU [2023] NZSC 68 [19 June 2023] (PDF, 170 KB)
Supreme court decision
Costs decision - ZHONG XING v JICAI LI AND FANG YU [2023] NZSC 87 [19 July 2023] (PDF, 164 KB)
Case name
James Hay Wallace and McLean's Mansion Charitable Trust v The King
Case number
SC 31/2023
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A) The applications for leave to appeal are dismissed.
B) Order continuing suppression of the applicants’ names, addresses, occupations and any identifying particulars on the terms set out at [15] until 2 pm on 28 June 2023.
Suppression will lapse at that time.
26 June 2023
High Court decision
[2021] NZHC 1213
Court of Appeal decision
WALLACE v R [2023] NZCA 6 [9 February 2023]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
JAMES HAY WALLACE v R [2023] NZSC 74 [26 June 2023] (PDF, 176 KB)
Case name
Raewyn Phyllis Cooper v Marcus Robert William Pinney
Case number
SC 32/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (Cooper v Pinney [2023] NZCA 62).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the applicant’s appeal to that Court.
3 July 2023
Date of hearing
01 November 2023 - 02 November 2023
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, Ellen France, Williams and Kós JJ
Submissions from counsel
Transcripts
Case Synopses
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
RAEWYN PHYLLIS COOPER v MARCUS ROBERT WILLIAM PINNEY [2023] NZCA 62 [13 March 2023]
Leave judgment - leave granted
RAEWYN PHYLLIS COOPER v MARCUS ROBERT WILLIAM PINNEY [2023] NZSC 80 [3 July 2023] (PDF, 158 KB)
Videos
Case name
David Charles Rae v Commissioner of Police
Case number
SC 33/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s recall judgment (Rae v Commissioner of Police [2023] NZCA 38) is dismissed.
B The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s substantive judgment (Rae v Commissioner of Police [2023] NZCA 4) is granted.
C Leave to appeal is granted.
D The appeal is dismissed.
E There is no order as to costs.
30 November 2023
Date of hearing
12 October 2023
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Williams and Kós JJ
Submissions from counsel
Transcripts
Case Synopses
Media Releases
High Court decision
THE COMMISSIONER, THE NEW ZEALAND POLICE v RAE [2020] NZHC 3132 [26 November 2020]
Court of Appeal decision
RAE v COMMISSIONER OF POLICE 2023 NZCA 4 [3 February 2023]
Court of Appeal decision
RAE v COMMISSIONER OF POLICE [2023] NZCA 38 [6 March 2023]
Supreme court decision
DAVID CHARLES RAE v COMMISSIONER OF POLICE [2023] NZSC 156 [30 November 2023 (PDF, 289 KB)
Videos
Case name
Stephen Gilbert Anderson v NZI International Acceptances Limited, NZI Securities Limited and NZI Finances Limited
Case number
SC 34/2023
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
31 May 2023
High Court decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
STEPHEN GILBERT ANDERSON v NZI INTERNATIONAL ACCEPTANCES LIMITED, NZI SECURITIES LIMITED AND NZI FINANCE LIMITED [2023] NZSC 64 [31 May 2023] (PDF, 176 KB)
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