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.

31 July 2026

Case information summary (as at 31 July 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 87 KB)
Case information summary (as at 31 July 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 131 KB) 

All years

Case name
Lynette Mills, Carl James Peterson and The Peterson/Mills Partnership v Kelly Dalzell, Tracey Howard Levenbach, ASB Bank Limited, Graham Howard Mills, John Levenbach, Carol Krammer, Holland Beckett Law, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, Morgan Coakle Lawyers, Assoc
Case number
SC 9/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A The applications for leave to file amended and further submissions are dismissed.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
C The applicants must pay the represented respondents one set of costs of $2,500.                        
17 June 2025

Case name
Robert Erwood v Graeme Edward Minchin and Anthony David Banbrook
Case number
SC 21/2025
Summary

Civil appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A    The application for an extension of time is dismissed.
B    Costs of $500 are awarded to the first respondent.                                                      
22 August 2025
____________________________________________________

The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 22 September 2025 (Erwood v Minchin [2025] NZSC 122) is dismissed.
20 November 2025

Case name
Rebecca Elizabeth Lane v Anne Veronica Goldson and Benjamin James Goldson, as executors of the Estate of Donald Algernon Gifford
Case number
SC 32/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 
B The applicant must pay the respondents one set of costs of $2,500.
23 July 2025

Case name
Anthony Mikhal Schmidt v Ebada Property Investments Ltd and Others
Case number
SC 42/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A The applications for leave to appeal are dismissed.
B Costs are reserved.
3 October 2025

Case name
James John McConnor v Auckland Transport and Baycorp (NZ) Ltd
Case number
SC 50/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the respondents one set of costs of $2,500.
1 August 2025

Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Mark Anthony Whittington v Solicitor-General
Case number
SC 59/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring civil appeal

Result

A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $1,500.                                                                
25 August 2025

Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Stephen James Henare v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 60/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A    The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B    The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $2,500.
4 August 2025

Case name
Tony James Sofus Pascoe and Debbie Ann Pascoe v Minister for Land Information
Case number
SC 81/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to appeal

Result

A The application for leave to file reply submissions is dismissed.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
C The applicants must pay the respondent one set of costs of $2,500.                                                    
10 September 2025

Case name
Tony James Sofus Pascoe and Debbie Ann Pascoe v Minister for Land Information
Case number
SC 82/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to appeal

Result

A notice of abandonment having been filed, the application for leave to appeal is abandoned                            26 September 2025

Case name
Estate of Eric John Tupai Ruru and Alan Parekura Torohina Haronga v Attorney-General, Waitangi Tribunal, Tanya Rogers and David Brown, Owen Lloyd, David Thomas Hawea and Anthony Tapp
Case number
SC 178/2025
Summary

Civil appeal 

Result

A Leave to appeal is granted in part (Estate of Ruru v Attorney- General [2025] NZCA 597).
B The approved questions are:
   (a) whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to the requirements for resumption in s 8HB of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975; and
   (b) whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to the Waitangi Tribunal’s discretion to award compensation under sch 1 of the Crown Forest Assets Act 1989.
C The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
10 June 2026

Date of hearing
08 December 2026 - 10 December 2026
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Ellen France, Williams, Kós and Campbell JJ