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
Helilogging Limited (In receivership and liquidation) And Anor v Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand
Case number
SC 26/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicants must pay the respondent costs of $2,500.
27 May 2021
Case name
Mark McKinney v New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 30/2021
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application to adduce evidence in support of the application is dismissed.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
21 June 2021
_______________________________________________________
The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 21 June 2021 (McKinney v New Zealand Police [2021] NZSC 68) is dismissed.
25 March 2022
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Poutama Kaitiaki Charitable Trust and D & T Pascoe v Taranaki Regional Council, New Plymouth District Council and New Zealand Transport Agency
Case number
SC 31/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
C The applicants must pay three sets of costs: $500 jointly to the first and second respondents, $2,500 to the third respondent and $1,500 to the interested party.
15 July 2021
_____________________________________________
A The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 15 July 2021 (Poutama Kaitiaki Charitable Trust v Taranaki Regional Council [2021] NZSC 87) is allowed only to make the changes identified at [2] below.
B The [2021] NZSC 87 judgment is reissued with these changes.
23 September 2021
____________________________________________
The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 15 July 2021 (Poutama Kaitiaki Charitable Trust v Taranaki Regional Council [2021] NZSC 87) as reissued on 23 September 2021 is dismissed.
8 November 2021
Case name
A Lawyer v New Zealand Law Society and Wellington Standards Committee No 2
Case number
SC 34/2021
Summary
Civil / Criminal 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 costs of $2,500.
30 June 2021
Case name
Seng Bou (Paul) Keung v The Official Assignee and Westpac New Zealand Limited
Case number
SC 41/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B There is no order as to costs.
7 July 2021
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Maninder Singh v New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 42/2021
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application to adduce evidence in support of the application is dismissed.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
2 July 2021
Case name
Melco Property Holdings (NZ) Limited v Anthony John Hall
Case number
SC 64/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A Leave to appeal is granted (Melco Property Holdings (NZ) 2012 Ltd v Hall [2021] NZCA 184).
B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct to dismiss the appeal.
3 September 2021
________________________________________________________
A The application for leave to adduce new evidence (the email chain) is dismissed.
B The appeal is allowed. The decisions of the Court of Appeal and High Court refusing to sustain the caveat are set aside.
C Order made that caveat No. 11659182.1 lodged by Melco on 16 January 2020 over the title to the property at 5 Parliament Street, Lower Hutt (WN13A/124), not lapse.
D Costs are reserved.
06 May 2022
__________________________________________
A The respondent must pay the appellant costs in this Court of $22,500 plus usual disbursements.
B The costs award made in the Court of Appeal is quashed.  The appellant is awarded costs in that Court on a band A basis together with usual disbursements.
C The appellant is awarded costs in the High Court on a 2B basis together with reasonable disbursements, to be fixed by the Registrar if necessary.
24 August 2022
Date of hearing
23 February 2022
Judges
William Young, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Ellen France, Williams JJ
Case name
Creative Development Solutions Limited v Chorus New Zealand Limited
Case number
SC 65/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A Notice of Abandonment having been filed, the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
10 August 2021
Case name
Pauline Janice Harrison v Adrienne Harrison, Graeme Ross Harrison, Nicholas Hamilton Birdsey, Raymond Owen Parmenter, Childfund New Zealand Limited and ASB Bank Limited
Case number
SC 81/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
13 September 2021
_____________________________________________________
The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 13 September 2021 (Harrison v Harrison [2021] NZSC 115) is dismissed.
14 October 2021
Case name
Benjamin Morland Easton v Registrar of the High Court of New Zealand
Case number
SC 82/2021
Summary
Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal
Result
A The application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
C The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $2,500.
22 September 2021
__________________________________________________________________
A The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 22 September 2021 (Easton v Registrar of the High Court of New Zealand [2021] NZSC 123) is dismissed.
B There is no order as to costs.
22 July 2022