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
Vinelight Nominees Limited and Weyand Investments Limited v The Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 10/2014
Summary
Civil appeal - tax avoidance - Tax Administration Act 1994. Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding there was an arrangement with a more than incidental purpose or effect of tax avoidance - whether a tax avoidance purpose can be inferred from aspects of a transaction other than those which produce the impugned tax result - whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that resort to sGB1 reconstruction power was unnecessary - whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the time bar in s 108 did not apply to particular approved issuer levy payments.[2013] NZCA 655 CA 35/2013
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicants are jointly and severally liable to pay costs of $2,500 to the respondent.
17 June 2014
B The applicants are jointly and severally liable to pay costs of $2,500 to the respondent.
17 June 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
GFM v JAM
Case number
SC 11/2014
Summary
Civil Appeal – Property (Relationships) Act 1976 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to approach the appeal as an appeal against the exercise of a discretion in accordance with the test established in May v May – Whether the Court of Appeal mis-stated the primary question and should have asked whether the respondent has shown that the Family Court Judge acted on the wrong principle, failed to take into account some relevant matter or was plainly wrong and whether the High Court Judge had approached the appeal on that basis or had erred in his approach – Whether the Court of Appeal erroneously interfered with finding of the Family Court Judge and failed to defer to the Family Court Judge’s expertise – Whether the Court of Appeal failed to recognise a number of discretions exercised by the Family Court Judge and erred in describing the discretion under s 2G(2) as a fettered discretion – Whether the Court of Appeal erred by putting the focus on equal sharing of relationship property (and at date of hearing values as determined by the Court) rather than on a just division – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in declining to take into account the interests of the children – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in placing the burden of proof on the wife to establish certain key facts – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to s 18C of the Act – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in effectively directing sale of the former family home rather than valuing the home at the date of hearing – Whether the Court of Appeal’s approach is unjust to the wife by adopting date of hearing values.[2013] NZCA 660 CA 566/2012
Result
Application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
Cost of $2,500 to the respondent.
2 April 2014
Cost of $2,500 to the respondent.
2 April 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
GFM v JAM [2014] NZSC 32 2 April 2014 (PDF, 49 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
CFC v The Queen
Case number
SC 12/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 30 – Whether the evidence from a search of the appellants’ property is admissible pursuant to s 30 of the Evidence Act 2006.[2013] NZCA 653 CA 534/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 2 April 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
P C v The Queen
Case number
SC 13/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act 2006, s 30 – Whether the evidence from a search of the appellants’ property is admissible pursuant to s 30 of the Evidence Act 2006.[2013] NZCA 653 CA 534/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 2 April 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Sovereign Assurance Company Limited, ASB Bank Limited, Sovereign Services Limited, CBA Asset Finance (NZ) Limited, CBA Funding (NZ) Limited, CBA Dairy Leasing Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 14/2014
Summary
Civil Appeal – Income Tax Acts 1994 and 2004 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in upholding the Commissioner’s reassessments of the applicants’ income – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that the accrual rules in subpt EH of the Income Tax Act 1994 were of exclusive application in determining the tax treatment of the commission arrangements – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the commissions when received and the commission repayments when paid were not assessable income and deductible expenditure respectively – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that the Commissioner was entitled to an award of costs.[2013] NZCA 652 CA 506/2012
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
10 June 2014
10 June 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
SSK v The Queen
Case number
SC 15/2014
Summary
[2013] NZHC 3487 CRI 2012 093 13988
Result
The application for leave to appeal directly to this Court is dismissed. Publication of the judgment or its contents in the news media, or on the internet or other publicly available database, is prohibited prior to trial. Publication in a law report or law digest is permitted, however. 18 February 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case Number
SC 15/2014
Judgment appealed from
not available online
Case name
Ross Donald Macrae and Lynette Gweneth Joy Macrae v Anthony Patrick Walshe and others
Case number
SC 16/2014
Summary
Civil Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the right of way allows access only to a single dwelling on the dominant land and for naturally related or ancillary purposes – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the applicant’s property was a “dwelling” for the purpose of the easement– Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the easement should be modified in accordance with that Court’ s conclusions – Whether the Court erred in relation to costs.[2013] NZCA 664 CA 814/2012
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicants must pay the first respondent costs of $2,500.
22 July 2014
B The applicants must pay the first respondent costs of $2,500.
22 July 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
BRM v The Queen
Case number
SC 17/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Evidence Act, s 92 – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the prosecutor did not breach their cross-examination duties – Whether the Court of Appeal’s decision in relation to appropriate jury directions was wrong – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the common law partial defence of excessive force is not recognised in New Zealand.[2013] NZCA 657 CA 260/2012
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 1 May 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Bon Vincent Namana v The Queen
Case number
SC 18/2014
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that a general challenge to the credibility of a witness is sufficient to satisfy a trial counsel’s duty to run a defendant’s alibi defence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the trial counsel’ s questions did not involve an implicit acceptance of facts.[2013] NZCA 640 CA 98/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
4 April 2014
4 April 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Razdan Rafiq v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and Commissioner of Police
Case number
SC 19/2014
Summary
Civil Appeal – Security for costs – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in upholding the Registrar’s decision not to dispense with security for costs.[2014] NZCA 4 CA 812/2013
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
16 June 2014
____________
Application for recall dismissed.
10 October 2014
16 June 2014
____________
Application for recall dismissed.
10 October 2014
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Recall judgment
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