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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
Neville Fong and June Chong v Christopher Shane Wong and Angela Kim Fong
Case number
SC 75/2010
Summary
Civil Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in apply s 149 of the Companies Act 1993 to a transaction between persons who are not directors as defined by s 126 of that Act; whether the Court of Appeal erred in its interpretation of “fair value”  in s 149.[2010]  NZCA 301   16 July  2010
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
FONG AND CHONG v WONG AND FONG SC 75/2010 [27 September 2010] (PDF, 42 KB)
Recall judgment
FONG AND CHONG v WONG AND FONG SC 75/2010 [13 December 2010] (PDF, 77 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dimissed with costs of $2,500 to the respondents.

28 September 2010
Case name
Sialofi Nee Ah Kee Patea v The Queen
Case number
SC 76/2010
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Crimes Act 1961 - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction for assault with intent to injure.[2010]  NZCA 338  30 July  2010
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
SIALOFI NEE AH KEE PATEA v R SC 76/2010 [3 November 2010] (PDF, 47 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

3 November 2010.
Case name
North Shore City Council v The Attorney-General
Case number
SC 77/2010
Summary
Civil – Duty of care – Whether Building Industry Authority owed a duty of care to the Council in connection with 1995 review of Council’ s building regulatory operations and functions under Building Act 1991 – Whether case so untenable to justify striking out of third-party notice.[2010]  NZCA 324   26 July  2010
Result

A Leave to appeal is granted.

B  The approved grounds are:

(i) Whether it is reasonably arguable that the BIA owed a duty of care to the Council in relation to the Grange development in any of the respects pleaded (as described in para 13.1 – 13.3 of the Council’s submissions in support of its application for leave to appeal).

(ii) Whether it is reasonably arguable that the BIA owed a duty of care to the plaintiff body corporate and unit owners in the respect pleaded (as described in para 13.4 of the Council’s submissions in support of its application for leave to appeal).

13 October 2010

________________

The appeal is dismissed.

The appellant is to pay the respondent costs of $40,000 and reasonable disbursements in connection with this appeal, as fixed by the Registrar if necessary.

27 June 2012

 
 
 
 

 
Transcript
Hearing date : 1 – 3 November 2011
Elias CJ, Blanchard , Tipping, McGrath, William Young JJ.
Case name
Iowane Seru Sucuturaga v The Queen
Case number
SC 78/2010
Summary
Criminal – Appeal from conviction for sexual violation by rape – What is the proper test for admission of evidence concerning jury deliberations – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that a witness had committed perjury when he had not faced a jury – What is the standard of proof for a finding of perjury – Whether a miscarriage of justice was caused by the admission of inadmissible evidence – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding the jury’s verdicts were not inconsistent – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding the trial Judge’s misdirection on representative counts did not cause a miscarriage of justice.
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
IOWANE SERU SUCUTURAGA v R SC 78/2010 [3 February 2011] (PDF, 10 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

3 February 2011
Case name
Rupinder Singh Chahil v The Queen
Case number
SC 79/2010
Summary
Criminal appeal – convictions for kidnapping after joint trial with three others – appeal against sentence and conviction – statement of co-accused used in evidence against the applicant – the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal against sentence but declined to impose a sentence of home detention in place of imprisonment – Whether the applicant’s rights under section 25 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (minimum standards of criminal procedure) were breached by the Crown’s use of the co-accused’ s statement at trial – whether the Court of Appeal failed to identify the extent and impact of the inadmissible material – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to consider home detention as an option in terms of section 16 of the Sentencing Act 2002.[2010]  NZCA 331   27 July  2010
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dimissed.

28 September 2010
Case name
Chala Sani Abdula v The Queen
Case number
SC 80/2010
Summary
Criminal Appeal - whether the applicant was denied his right to an interpreter under s 24(g) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990; whether the adequacy of evidence called by the defence at trial and the Court of Appeal's refusal of an application to call further medical and scientific evidence gave rise to a miscarriage of justice.[2010]  NZCA 332   28 July  2010
Result
A  The application for leave to appeal is granted.
B  The approved ground of appeal is whether the applicant was denied his right to an interpreter under s 24(g) of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.
4 November 2010
___________________________________
Appeal dismissed.
1 November 2011
Transcripts
Media Releases
Substantive judgment
ABDULA v R SC 80/2010 [1 November 2011] (PDF, 149 KB)
Case name
Gary Maui Isherwood v The Queen
Case number
SC 81/2010
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Appeal against sentence of preventive detention - Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s application for an extension of time for filing an appeal against sentence.[2010]  NZCA 347   3 August  2010
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dimissed.

21 September 2010.
Case name
Churchill Group Holdings Limited and others v Aral Property Holdings Limited and David Leung
Case number
SC 82/2010
Summary
Civil – Conflict of Interest – Whether employment of High Court Judge’s child within the respondent’s firm of solicitors gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias which meant Judge should not have sat or continued to sit on the case – Whether Court of Appeal should accordingly have recalled its judgment dismissing an appeal from the High Court’s decision not to stay the execution of a costs order against the appellant.[2010]  NZCA 335   30 July   2010
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
CHURCHILL GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED AND ORS v ARAL PROPERTY HOLDINGS LIMITED AND DAVID LEUNG SC 82/2010 [3 November 2010] (PDF, 30 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed, with costs of $2,500 to the respondent.

3 November 2010
Case name
Neil Martin Clarke v Corey Daniel Watts
Case number
SC 83/2010
Summary
Civil – Security for costs on appeal – Whether the Registrar of the Court of Appeal failed to provide the appellant with information relating to the requirements for a dispensation of costs within time – Whether a miscarriage of justice would be caused by the release of monies held by the High Court in execution of the costs order to the respondent.[2010]  NZCA 322   27 July 2010
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
CLARKE v WATTS SC 83/2010 [7 October 2010] (PDF, 46 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

7 October 2010
Case name
Bruce Benjamin Shepherd v The Queen
Case number
SC 84/2010
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction and sentence – applicant was convicted on 20 counts of sexual offending against eight complainants –  during re-examination of one complainant the judge intervened to clarify the meaning of an earlier question from counsel for the defence in cross-examination and sought the complainant’s answer – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that the questioning did not give rise to a miscarriage of justice – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that particular conduct of the applicant’s counsel at trial did not give rise to a miscarriage of justice .[2010] NZCA 351 CA 105/2009 5 August 2010.
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
SHEPHERD v R SC 84/2010 [1 April 2011] (PDF, 10 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

1 April 2011
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