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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
Paul Desmond Currie v The Queen
Case number
SC 2/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Miscarriage of justice – Crimes Act 1961, s 385(1)(c) – The Applicant was convicted of one charge of blackmail pursuant to s 237(1)(b) of the Crimes Act 1961 – The Applicant asserts that the document this conviction was based on was a forgery and that a witness committed perjury – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing his appeal against conviction.    [2011] NZCA  624   CA 690/2010
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
30 March 2012.
Case name
Joseph Quintin Donnelly  v The Queen
Case number
SC 3/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Admission of new evidence – Appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal which declined leave to adduce new evidence relating to DNA testing – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that the DNA evidence was neither fresh nor cogent[2011] NZCA  660  CA 644/2010
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

29 March 2012.
Case name
LLT  v The Queen
Case number
SC 4/2012
Summary
Pretrial ruling – change of venue.[2011] NZCA  617  CA 694/2011
Dates
Notice of Abandonment being filed the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
9 February 2012.
Case name
Malcolm Edward Rabson v Linda Gallagher and others.
Case number
SC 5/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – division of property - Property (Relationship) Act 1976 – whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to take into account relevant considerations regarding separate property owned by the applicant – whether the Court of Appeal erred in making factual findings – whether the Court of Appeal failed to apply basic legal principles – whether the Court of Appeal took into account irrelevant considerations in relation to the Family Trust– whether the Court of Appeal erred in treating the Applicant as having the same legal personality as the Third Respondent – whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to afford separate legal representation to a minor.[2011] NZCA  669  CA 507/2010, CA 726/2010
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed, with costs of $4,000 to the first respondent.
16 April 2012.
Case name
B v The Queen
Case number
SC 6/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence – Evidence Act 2006, s 25 – Admissibility of expert opinion evidence – Appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, which held that the trial Judge’s refusal to allow the defence to call an expert did not cause a miscarriage of justice – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that the applicant was not prejudiced by this refusal[2011] NZCA 654  CA 196/2010
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
3 April 2012.
Case name
Rita Wilson v David Murray Blanchett and Grant Edward Burns
Case number
SC 7/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Company Law – Companies Act 1993 – Whether the Court of Appeal was correct to conclude that there was no arguable defence to the Respondents’ application for summary judgment – Whether certain payments transferred to the Applicant were made with valuable consideration per s 298(2) of the Companies Act 1993[2011] NZCA  647  CA 521/2010.
Dates

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs of $2,500 to the respondents.

24 February 2012.
Case name
Commissioner of Inland Revenue v Redcliffe Forestry Venture Limited and others
Case number
SC 8/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Jurisdiction – High Court Rules, r 5.49 – The respondents sought to set aside a High Court judgment, holding that a forestry investment structure was created for the dominant purpose of tax avoidance and that was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, on the basis that the Commissioner presented a false case to the Court by failing to disclose that another provision of the Income Tax Act 1994 was applicable – This was raised on appeal before the Supreme Court which refused to hear the argument – Whether the High Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine this proceeding – In the alternative, whether the proceeding should be struck out as an abuse of process.[2011] NZCA  638  CA 152/2010, CA 204/2010
Result
The application for leave to appeal is granted.
The approved questions are:

(i) whether the Commissioner’s challenge to the claim was appropriately brought under r 5.49; and
(ii) whether the judgment of the High Court should in any event have been upheld.

29 February 2012

_____________________________
Transcript

Hearing date : 19 June 2012

Elias CJ, Tipping, McGrath, William Young, Gault JJ.
Case name
Raghu Aryasomayajula v The Queen
Case number
SC 9/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Appeal against conviction – Crimes Act 1961 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in law – Whether there was a miscarriage of justice – Whether there was insufficient evidence to convict.[2011] NZCA  633  CA 105/2011
Result
Notice of abandonment being lodged, the application for leave to appeal  is deemed to be dismissed.
27 March 2012.The application for leave to withdraw the notice of abandonment of the application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
16 December 2015
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
RAGHU SRINIVAS ARYASOMAYAJULA v R [2015] NZSC 190 [16 December 2015] (PDF, 80 KB)
Case name
Allan John Todd v The Queen
Case number
SC 10/2012
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Conviction and sentence – Threatening to kill and sexual violation - Whether Court of Appeal correct to dismiss appeal against conviction and sentence – Fair Trial – Police misconduct pre-trial – Right to Counsel – Counsel misconduct at trial – Fresh evidence.CA 265/2004
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
16 April 2012.
Case name
Ivan Sydney Oliver Hawkins  v The Queen
Case number
SC 11/2012
Summary
Criminal Procedure – Bail Act 2000, ss14, 70 – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that granting bail pending appeal to the Applicant, so as to allow him to contact witnesses, was not in the interests of justice.CA 825/2011  [2011]  NZCA 656
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
15 May 2012.
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