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.

25 March 2025

Case information summary 2024 (as at 25 March 2025) –  Cases where leave granted (127 KB)

Case information summary 2024 (as at 25 March 2025)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 99 KB)

All years

Case name
Thomas Maxwell Clark v The Queen
Case number
SC CRI 20/2004
Summary
Criminal appeal against pre-trial ruling - whether Judge erred in declining to order severance of two counts of sexual offending - whether the evidence of mutual compaints sufficiently qualified as similar fact evidence - what the appropriate test for admission of similar fact evidence should be - whether the issue of possible collusion between the two complainants should have been explored on a voir dire before trial. CA 306/04 6 December 2004
Result
Application for leave dismissed. 10 May 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
CLARK V R SC CRI 20/2004 [10 May 2005] (PDF, 39 KB)
Transcript
Hearing date : 6 April 2005
Case name
Peter Francis Urbani v Gillions and Sons Limited
Case number
SC 2/2004
Summary
Civil appeal - standard to be applied by Court of Appeal in appeals from findings of fact whether the Court of Appeal should evaluate the relevant evidence and reach and express its own conclusions. CA 56/03 1 April 2004
Result
Leave to appeal refused.
15 July 2004
_________________________
Decision on costs.
17 August 2004
Transcripts
Court of Appeal decision
PETER FRANICS URBANI V GILLIONS AND SONS LIMITED CA CA56/03 1 April 2004
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
PETER FRANCIS URBANI V GILLIONS AND SONS LIMITED SC SC CIV 2/2004 [15 July 2004] (PDF, 24 KB)
Additional document
PETER FRANCIS URBANI V GILLION AND SONS LIMITED SC SC CIV 2/2004 [17 August 2004] (PDF, 7 KB)
Case name
Westfield (New Zealand) Limited and Northcote Mainstreet Incorporated v North Shore City Council and Discount Brands Limited
Case number
SC 4/2004 SC CIV 4/2004
Summary
Civil appeal - resource management - application for consent for non-complying activity - whether a decision to proceed on a non-notified basis is extraordinary - whether the correct standard of review of such a decision is to be in accordance with traditional Wednesbury principles - whether the cautionary approach discussed in Bayley v Manukau City Council (1999) NZLR 568 should be adopted in non-notification decisions - whether there was sufficient material before the Commissioners to enable them to conclude that the effects of the application would be more than de minimis. CA 30/04 14 June 2004.
Result
6 October 2004 Elias CJ; Tipping J Leave to appeal granted.
6 October 2004
________________________________
The appeal is allowed. The order of the High Court is restored. The decisions made by the North Shore City Council (a) on 25 July 2003 not to require notification of the second respondent's resource consent application and (b) on 21 August 2003 granting that application are set aside. Costs in favour of the appellants are to be fixed by the Court following receipt of written submissions.
19 April 2005
Transcripts
Court of Appeal decision
Discount Brands Limited v Northcote Mainstreet Incorporated CA30/04 [2004] NZCA 383 (14 June 2004)
Leave judgment - leave granted
WESTFIELD NEW ZEALAND LIMITED And Anor V NORTH SHORE CITY COUNCIL And Anor SC SC4/04 [6 October 2004] (PDF, 13 KB)
Substantive judgment
WESTFIELD (NEW ZEALAND) LIMITED And Anor V NORTH SHORE CITY COUNCIL And Anor SC SC CIV 4/2004 [19 April 2005] (PDF, 258 KB)
Case name
Richard Prebble and Ken Shirley v Donna Awatere Huata
Case number
SC 9/2004 SC CIV 9/2004
Summary
Whether distortion of "the proportionality of political party representation in Parliament" in terms of s55D of the Electoral Act 1993 was properly limited to conduct which alters a party's relative voting strength through defection - whether the belief of the leaders of the Act party that Huata had acted so as to distort the proportionality of Parliament was a reasonable one - whether, and to what extent, the scope of judicial review is limited in the context of ss55A-55D of the Act. CA34/04 16 July 2004
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
25 August 2004
_________________
A Appeal allowed
B Order of the Court of Appeal prohibiting delivery of the proposed notice to the Speaker of the House of Representatives is discharged.
C Appellant entitled to costs in this and the lower courts.
18 November 2004
________________________
Costs to appellant in the sum of $15,000, together with disbursements of $2,000.
19 April 2005
Transcripts
Court of Appeal decision
Huata v Prebble [2004] NZCA 147; [2004] 3 NZLR 359 (16 July 2004)
Leave judgment - leave granted
PREBBLE And Ors V HUATA SC SC CIV 9/2004 25 August 2004 (PDF, 10 KB)
Substantive judgment
PREBBLE And Ors V HUATA SC SC CIV 9/2004 [18 November 2004] (PDF, 139 KB)
Additional document
Judgment on costs PREBBLE And Ors V HUATA SC SC CIV 9/2004 [19 April 2005] (PDF, 36 KB)
Case name
Vaughn Bennett v The Queen
Case number
SC 16/2004 CRI 16/2004
Summary
Criminal appeal against conviction and sentence for charges of manslaughter and supply of a Class B drug - appellant administered methadone to victim - when a witness may be allowed to refresh his/her memory from statements made to police - when and how a timeline may be presented to a jury - whether a sentence of ten years' imprisonment (with a six year non-parole period) was within the range available to the sentencing judge. CA457/03 23 September 2004
Result
Application for leave to appeal refused.
10 December 2004
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
VAUGHN BENNETT V R SC SC CRI 16/04 [10 December 2004] (PDF, 15 KB)
Judgment appealed from

NZLII : BENNET v R [2004] NZCA 239
Case name
V v The Queen
Case number
Summary
Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including theresult) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of trial. Publication in law report or law digest permitted.
Result

Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including

the result) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final

disposition of trial. Publication in law report or law digest permitted.                                                               

7 July 2017

______________________

Substantive:

Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including the result) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of trial. Publication in law report or law digest permitted.               
21 September 2017
Case number                              

SC 54/2017
Hearing date

Hearing date : 22 August 2017                                                                      
Elias CJ, William Young, Glazebrook, O'Regan and Ellen France JJ.
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