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
Gregory Nielsen and Roderick William Nielsen v Dysart Timbers Limited
Case number
SC 38/2007
Summary
Civil appeal – interpretation of clause in deed of purchase of debt – whether deed extended to companies or entities other than those expressly mentioned in the deed.CA 253/05 22 May 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted.
9 August 2007
_________________________
Notice of abandonment being lodged, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
3 June 2009
9 August 2007
_________________________
Notice of abandonment being lodged, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
3 June 2009
Leave judgment - leave granted
Judgment appealed from
Number
SC38/2007
Case name
Gustav & Co Limited v MacField Limited
Case number
SC 39/2007
Summary
Civil appeal – unconscionable bargain – contract for sale of commercial land – sole director of applicant company had a terminal illness – contract cancelled by respondent company when full deposit not paid – applicant company sought to recover partial deposit on the basis of unconscionable dealing due to director’s illness – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding there was no duty to inquire – the extent of knowledge required for such a duty.CA 168/05 24 May 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted.
4 September 2007
4 September 2007
Date of hearing
11 March 2008
Transcripts
- Hearing date 11 March 2008 (PDF, 235 KB)
Media Releases
- mediarelease gustav (PDF, 88 KB)
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Case name
Ben Nevis Forestry Ventures Limited, Bristol Forestry Ventures Limited, Clive Richard Bradbury, Greenmass Limited, Gregory Alan Peebles and Estate of the Late Kenneth John Laird v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 43/2007
Summary
Civil – income tax appeals – designated as test cases by Commissioner – all appellants investors in “Trinity” forestry scheme – whether Court of Appeal erred in upholding Commissioner’s assessments – correct approach to application of Peterson v CIR [2006] 3 NZLR 433 – whether appellants’ investment in scheme a tax avoidance arrangement within meaning of ss BB 9 and BG 1 of the Income Tax Act 1994 – whether insurance premiums required to be spread under accruals rules – whether Commissioner’s power to reconstruct arrangements to eliminate improper tax advantage exercised correctly – whether appellants took an abusive tax position – whether application of penalties to the appellants wrong in law and excessive.CA 21/05 11 June 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted.
9 October 2007
____________________
Appeal dismissed. Costs to the respondent.
19 December 2008
9 October 2007
____________________
Appeal dismissed. Costs to the respondent.
19 December 2008
Media Releases
- MR [2008] NZSC 115 (PDF, 89 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Recall judgment
Supreme court decision
Substantive judgment
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Hearing date : 8 February 2008
Hearing date : 23 – 27 June 2008
Elias CJ, Tipping, McGrath Gault, Anderson JJ
Substantive judgment / Media release
Case name
Accent Management Limited, Lexington Resources Limited, and Redcliffe Forestry Ventures Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 44/2007
Summary
Civil – income tax appeals – designated as test cases by Commissioner – all appellants investors in “Trinity” forestry scheme – whether Court of Appeal erred in upholding Commissioner’s assessments – correct approach to application of Peterson v CIR [2006] 3 NZLR 433 – whether appellants’ investment in scheme a tax avoidance arrangement within meaning of ss BB 9 and BG 1 of the Income Tax Act 1994 – whether insurance premiums required to be spread under accruals rules – whether Commissioner’s power to reconstruct arrangements to eliminate improper tax advantage exercised correctly – whether appellants took an abusive tax position – whether application of penalties to the appellants wrong in law and excessive.CA 21/05 11 June 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted.
9 October 2007
_____________________
Appeal dismissed. Costs to the respondent.
19 December 2008
9 October 2007
_____________________
Appeal dismissed. Costs to the respondent.
19 December 2008
Media Releases
- MR [2008] NZSC 115 (PDF, 89 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Recall judgment
Supreme court decision
Substantive judgment
Substantive judgment /Media release
Transcript
Hearing date : 8 February 2008
Hearing date : 8 – 10 July 2008
Elias CJ, Blanchard, Tipping, McGrath , Anderson JJ
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Ch’elle Properties (NZ) Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 46/2007
Summary
Summary Civil appeal – Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 – whether s 76 constitutes an objective or subjective test – whether there can be tax avoidance where there is no tax advantage.CA 126/04 25 June 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 6 September 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
George Socrates Mamfredos and others v Herbert Equities Limited
Case number
SC 48/2007
Summary
Civil – principles applicable to lodging of caveats – whether, in the circumstances, the applicants (against whom caveat applications were brought) bore and failed to discharge an evidential onus – whether the Court of Appeal erred in fact and law, took irrelevant matters into account or failed to have regard to relevant pieces of evidence in overturning in part the High Court’s decision to dismiss the respondent’s caveat applications.CA 147/06 6 July 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Mustafa Can v The Queen
Case number
SC 54/2007
Summary
Criminal – sexual violation – s 128 Crimes Act 1961 – whether the jury direction on the applicant’s reasonable belief in consent, based on the test in R v Gutuama (Court of Appeal, CA 275/01, 13 December 2001), was in conflict with the statutory language in s 128 Crimes Act 1961 – whether expert evidence as to the intellectual limitations of the complainant was wrongly admitted.CA 492/05 16 July 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 27 November 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MUSTAFA CAN v R SC 54/2007 [27 November 2007] (PDF, 19 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Transpower New Zealand Limited v Todd Energy Limited
Case number
SC 55/2007
Summary
Civil Appeal – whether summary judgment should have been issued for the defendant – whether some or all of the actions against the applicant should be struck out – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that section 19 of the Electricity Amendment Act 2001 did not amount to an authorisation under section 43 of the Commerce Act 1986 – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that long term infrastructure substitution between embedded generation and transmission is arguably contemplated by the Commerce Act 1986 definition of “market” – whether the respondent’s claim is a complaint that the applicant charges too much – whether such a complaint is capable of amounting to a breach of Part 2 of the Commerce Act 1986 – whether the Court of Appeal applied a more demanding standard for summary judgment – whether the Court of Appeal erred by finding that the respondent can choose between local and national electricity markets when presenting its case at trial – whether the Court of Appeal erred by allowing the argument that the respondent’s local electricity generation competes with the applicant’s transmission services to go to trial when that argument was struck out in another case – whether a claim that the applicant’ s “tying” or ”unbundling” of services has the purpose or likely effect of substantially lessening competition should go to trial where the services were not able to be tied or bundled and the claim is in substance a claim about overcharging. CA 80/05 and CA 177/06 20 July 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal and cross appeal dismissed. 13 December 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Michael Raymond Main v Kevin Evan Main
Case number
SC 56/2007
Summary
Civil appeal – Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s 2(3) – whether the Court of Appeal was correct in holding that the respondent had proved that the premises were let principally for purposes other than residential purposes – whether the Court of Appeal had jurisdiction to make s 2(3) finding – whether the respondent had complied with the Court of Appeal’ s order as to the filing of additional evidence – whether the Court of Appeal failed to take into account evidence filed.CA 25/07 23 July 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. Costs $2,500 to respondent. 8 October 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MAIN v MAIN SC 56/2007 [8 October 2007] (PDF, 13 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Glenharrow Holdings Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 59/2007
Summary
Civil appeal – avoidance of GST under section 76 of Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 – whether the High Court erred in its findings of fact relating to the value of the mining license purchased by the applicant - whether the High Court erred when it concluded that the purchase price for the mining license was grossly inflated – whether the evidence was such that only one conclusion was reasonably open to the Court – whether a substantial miscarriage of justice occurred as a result of incorrect findings of fact – whether, given the High Court finding that the transaction was a genuine arms length agreement, there was a basis for a finding under section 76 that the transaction defeated the scheme and purposes of the Act– whether an open market value should be used when determining GST obligations where a transaction is genuine and at arms length – whether the Court of Appeal erred by conflating the value of a loan used to purchase an asset with the consideration paid – whether the Court of Appeal erred in its approach to determining the total consideration – whether it was open to the Court of Appeal to make a finding that the loan repayments amounted to an ‘ empty obligation’ – whether the Court of Appeal erred in its application of Peterson v CIR [2006] 3 NZLR 433CA 192/05 15 August 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted. 4 October 2007
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment / Media release
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Hearing date : 8 – 10 July 2008
Elias CJ, Blanchard, Tipping, McGrath , Anderson JJ
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