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
Edgar Alan Moray Burns and Yvonne Joy Burns v ANZ National Bank of New Zealand
Case number
SC 97/2006
Summary
Summary Civil – applicants sought to cancel settlement agreement made with respondent bank – proceedings arose out of claim against bank alleging breach of trust or fiduciary obligation by bank in failing to pay to applicants proceeds of sales of trees made by an agent of the applicants (knowing receipt) – failure on the part of respondent to discover documents which were discovered in a similar subsequent case involving another party – ss 7(3) and (4) Contractual Remedies Act – Court of Appeal found that there was a representation that discovery was adequate or complete when it was inadequate and incomplete – Court of Appeal found that applicants failed in their assertion of existence of agency relationship, having argued vendor/purchaser relationship in previous proceedings – whether Court of Appeal erred in holding that materiality is a necessary element of inducement – whether Court of Appeal erred in speculating how representors would have acted had position not been misrepresented to them to determine substantiality. CA 269/05 27 November 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal refused.
17 April 2007
17 April 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Peterson Portable Sawing Systems Ltd & Carl James Peterson v Rex Cameron Lucas & G W Lucas & Sons Pty Ltd
Case number
SC 14/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - Patents Act 1953 - whether the Court adopted the correct principles for the construction of the patent specification - whether the Court applied the proper test for assessing obviousness and made the appropriate distinction between novelty and obviousness - proper application of the Windsurfing International Inc v Tabur Marine (Great Britain) Ltd [1985] RPC 59 analysis. CA 64/03 4 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
25 July 2005
_________________
The appeal is allowed.
30 March 2006
25 July 2005
_________________
The appeal is allowed.
30 March 2006
Transcripts
- Hearing date 21 July 2005 (PDF, 108 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Benjamin Turrei Brooking v The Queen
Case number
SC 16/2005
Summary
Criminal appeal - appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal quashing a sentence of six years imprisonment and substituting a sentence of eight years nine months - whether the Court erred in principle in holding that in the District Court the Judge failed to take into account offending other than burglaries. CA 419/04 7 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal refused.
31 May 2005
31 May 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
BROOKING V R SC 16/2005 [31 May 2005] (PDF, 14 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Motorcorp Holdings Ltd and Others v CIR
Case number
SC 18/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - whether reimbursement payments by overseas car manufacturers to New Zealand distributors were payments under contracts of insurance for the purposes of the Goods and Services Tax Act 1985 - whether there was a supply for GST purposes - whether the decision in Suzuki NZ Ltd v CIR (2001) 20 NZTC 17, 096 should be revisited. CA 17/04 7 March 2005
Result
Leave to appeal refused.
1 June 2005
1 June 2005
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
re grant to appeal to the Privy Council - dismissed
Case name
Casata Limited v General Distributors Limited
Case number
SC 26/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - whether the Court of Appeal erred in its interpretation of the costs regime under the Arbitration Act 1996 - whether the Court of Appeal held correctly that the arbitral tribunal had erred in law in not considering party costs in the reward. CA 84/04 13 April 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
6 July 2005
________________
The appeal is dismissed.
15 March 2006
6 July 2005
________________
The appeal is dismissed.
15 March 2006
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Judgment appealed from
Substantive judgment
Case name
Bridgecorp Finance Limited v The Proprietors of Matauri X Incorporated
Case number
SC 28/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - appeal against decision of the Court of Appel - whether the effect of s358A of the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 was to restrict a Maori Incorporation's powers to its objects, such that there was a restriction on the Respondent's power to borrow - further seeks declaration that the mortgage is nonetheless enforceable under the Land Transfer Act 1952 and the principle of indefeasibility. CA 8/04 3 May 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted. 2 June 2005 ___________________________A notice of abandonment having been lodged, the appeal is deemed to be dismissed.6 November 2006
Leave judgment - leave granted
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Gulf Harbour Investments Limited v Gulf Corporation Limited & Auckland Property Group Limited
Case number
SC 35/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding that there had been no valid exercise of an option requiring the transfer of certain land - whether the Court should have departed from the approach in Reporoa Stores Ltd v Treloar and adopted the test of whether a reasonable person would have fairly understood the option to have been exercised. CA 145/04 25 May 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
8 July 2005
8 July 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Transotway Limited v Iain Bruce Shephard and Christine Margaret Dunphy
Case number
SC 39/2005
Summary
Civil appeal - whether the Court of Appeal arred in concluding that the discharge of a debt by way of set-off through provision of a client list to the applicant was "a payment of money" in terms of s 292(1)(e) of the Companies Act 1993 - whether s 310 of the Companies Act which provides for set-off of mutual debts in liquidation was applicable - whether a substance based approach, which considers the transaction in the context of the agreement as a whole, was applied.
CA 98/04 13 June 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted
31 August 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Case name
ANZO Foods Waitara Limited, Itoham New Zealand Limited & Riverlands Limited v Affco New Zealand Limited
Case number
SC 41/2005
Summary
Encumbrance - interpretation - whether certain meat processing activity within terms of encumbrance - competition law - whether encumbrance prohibited by Commerce Act 1986, sections 27 and 28. CA 181/04 23 June 2005
Result
For hearing 26 July 2005 Notice of abandonment being lodged the appeal is deemed to be dismissed.1 August 2005.
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Alain Michael Mafart and Dominique Angela Francoise Prieur v Television New Zealand Limited
Case number
SC 50/2005
Summary
Leave to search, inspect and copy criminal records held by the High Court - videotape of Rainbow Warrior proceedings - jurisdiction of Court of Appeal - whether application for leave to search is civil or criminal - whether Court of Appeal jurisdiction precluded by the Judicature Act 1908, s 66. CA 92/05 4 August 2005
Result
Leave to appeal granted 21 September 2005
Leave judgment - leave granted
Transcript
Judgment appealed from
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