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.

19 June 2026

Case information summary (as at 19 June 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 89 KB)
Case information summary (as at 19 June 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 126 KB) 

All years

Case name
Raymond Simpson v Kawerau District Council.
Case number
SC CRI 12/2004
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal to decline to grant special leave to appeal to that Court. CA76/04 27 July 2004
Result
Leave to appeal refused. 5 October 2004
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
R SIMPSON V KAWERAU DISTRICT COUNCIL SC SC CRI 12/2004 [5 October 2004] (PDF, 17 KB)
Judgment appealed from
SIMPSON v R [2004] NZCA 160 (27 July 2004)
Case name
Aerengaroa Timoti v The Queen
Case number
SC CRI 14/2004
Summary
Criminal appeal against conviction - Whether, in the circumstances of this case, provocation was available as a partial defence to murder under s167(d) of the Crimes Act - Whether the jury direction on provocation was inadequate, resulting in a miscarriage of justice. CA3/00 25 August 2004 PDF 92kb
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
10 December 2004
________________________
Appeal allowed. Conviction quashed. New Trial ordered.
21 June 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
TIMOTI V R SC SC CRI 14/2004 [10 December 2004] (PDF, 11 KB)
Transcript
Hearing date : 17 March 2005
Substantive judgment

TIMOTI V R SC CRI 14/2004 21 June 2005
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)
Page 80 of 80