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.
3 July 2026
Case information summary (as at 3 July 2026) – Cases where leave granted (PDF, 88 KB)
Case information summary (as at 3 July 2026) – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 127 KB)
All years
Case name
Caroline Rangiata AROH v The Queen
Case number
SC 88/2008
Summary
Criminal Appeal - Criminal appeal – importing cocaine and heroin and exporting cocaine – appeal against conviction and sentence – whether Court of Appeal bench was appropriately constituted – miscarriage of justice – whether evidence was fabricated – whether counts should have been severed from that of the appellant’s co-accused – whether judge erred in allowing inadmissable evidence to be used against the appellant.[2008] NZCA 457 CA 113/07 5 November 2008
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
CAROLINE AROH v R SC 88/2008 [30 March 2009] (PDF, 19 KB)
Dates
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
30 March 2009
Case name
Astrazeneca Limited v Commerce Commission and Pharmaceutical Management Agency
Case number
SC 91/2008
Summary
Civil Appeal – Respondent gave notice under s 98 of the Commerce Act 1986 of an investigation into allegations that the applicant acted contrary to section 36 of the Act in negotiations with PHARMAC – whether exemption to Part 2 of the Commerce Act in s 53 of the Public Health and Disability Act 2000 applied so that the respondent should not have issued a notice – whether Court of Appeal erred in concluding it did not have sufficient factual information to determine whether s 53 applied – whether the Court of Appeal was correct to conclude that there might be some other purpose of s 53 which would become evident when it was considered in light of the full facts.[2008] NZCA 479 CA 241/2008 11 November 2008
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted
25 February 2009
________________________
Appeal allowed. It is declared that the notice under s 98 of the Commerce Act 1986 given by the Commerce Commission on 31 October 2007 was ultra vires and invalid. It is ordered that the notice is quashed. The Commerce Commission is ordered to pay the appellant costs in this Court of $15,000 together with reasonable disbursements as fixed by the Registrar. Costs in the Court of Appeal and the High Court should now be fixed respectively by those Courts in light of this Court’s judgment.
26 August 2009
25 February 2009
________________________
Appeal allowed. It is declared that the notice under s 98 of the Commerce Act 1986 given by the Commerce Commission on 31 October 2007 was ultra vires and invalid. It is ordered that the notice is quashed. The Commerce Commission is ordered to pay the appellant costs in this Court of $15,000 together with reasonable disbursements as fixed by the Registrar. Costs in the Court of Appeal and the High Court should now be fixed respectively by those Courts in light of this Court’s judgment.
26 August 2009
Media Releases
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
Transcript
Case name
Deryck Joseph Morgan v The Queen
Case number
SC 92/2008
Summary
Criminal Appeal – aggravated robbery – appeal against conviction – miscarriage of justice – previous inconsistent statement of hostile witness – actual statement not produced until re-examination because of oversight – whether Court of Appeal was correct to hold that this statement was admissible as evidence of the truth of its contents.[2008] NZCA 537 CA 481 /2008 5 December 2008
Result
Application for leave to appeal granted.
25 March 2009
_________________________
Appeal dismissed.
16 March 2010
25 March 2009
_________________________
Appeal dismissed.
16 March 2010
Transcripts
- Hearing date 16 July 2009 (PDF, 294 KB)
Media Releases
- press release morgan v the queen (PDF, 31 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
MORGAN v R SC 92/2008 [25 March 2009] (PDF, 12 KB)
Substantive judgment
MORGAN v R SC 92/2008 [16 March 2010] (PDF, 87 KB)
Case name
Gail Denise Maney v The Queen
Case number
SC 2/2007
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction – application in Court of Appeal to admit fresh evidence – key witness implicating applicant at trial recanting evidence before Court of Appeal on the basis that it had been coerced by Police conduct – witness not considered credible by Court of Appeal – whether retrial ought to be granted in order for credibility of witness to be considered with totality of remaining evidence – application for leave to appeal out of time. CA 244/03 11 August 2005
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 1 May 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Kevin Jack Ngan v The Queen
Case number
SC 5/2007
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction – earlier unsuccessful application for leave to appeal directly to Supreme Court (see SC 24/2006) – lawfulness of “inventory searches” – admissibility of evidence obtained through police searches of applicant’s sunglasses pouch and wallet following injury of applicant in car crash – whether Court of Appeal erred in holding that searches both lawful and reasonable and evidence therefore properly admitted. CA 220/06 1 December 2006
Result
Leave to appeal granted. 15 March 2007
Media Releases
- pressreleasengan 000 (PDF, 78 KB)
Leave judgment - leave granted
Substantive judgment
NGAN v R SC 5/2007 [13 December 2007] (PDF, 195 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Transcript
Substantive judgment / Media release
Case name
Laxman Rajamani v the Queen
Case number
SC 8/2007
Summary
Criminal appeal – murder – husband killed wife – defence of lack of murderous intent and provocation – husband and wife both Indian - alleged provocative act by wife was in threatening to leave her husband for a Pakistani colleague – whether trial judge erred in proceeding with the trial to verdict with only ten jurors after two jurors had been discharged – whether trial judge erred in summing up on provocation – whether defence counsel’s cross-examination of a key Crown witness was inadequate; and whether trial judge’s summing up with respect to that witness was unbalanced – whether hearsay evidence from deceased a few days before her death concerning threats to her life from the defendant should have been admitted under R v Manase [2001] 2 NZLR 197; and whether trial judge’ s instructions as to the use to which that evidence could be put were incorrect. CA 140/06 20 December 2006
Result
Leave to appeal granted.
19 April 2007
____________________________
Appeal allowed, conviction quashed, new trial ordered.
23 August 2007
19 April 2007
____________________________
Appeal allowed, conviction quashed, new trial ordered.
23 August 2007
Transcripts
- Hearing date 25 July 2007 (PDF, 321 KB)
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave granted
RAJAMANI v R SC 8/2007 [19 April 2007] (PDF, 12 KB)
Substantive judgment
RAJAMANI v R SC 8/2007 [23 August 2007] (PDF, 38 KB)
Case name
Paul Bruce Emirali v The Queen
Case number
SC 10/2007
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction and sentence – appellant convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine – whether verdict supportable on the evidence – meaning of “conspiracy” and “supply” – admissibility of evidence –application for leave to appeal out of time. CA 177/06 12 December 2006
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
2 May 2007
2 May 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
EMIRALI v R SC 10/2007 [2 May 2007] (PDF, 15 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
Manu Chhotubhai Bhanabhai and Douglas Mark Andrew Burgress v Commissioner of Inland Revenue
Case number
SC 11/2007
Summary
Civil appeal – as part of an agreement to settle GST arrears arising from the development of an apartment complex, solicitors for property developers gave an undertaking to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue that arrears would be cleared using proceeds from the sale of certain apartment units – in the event, GST arrears not paid – property developers put into liquidation - liquidators commenced proceedings, to which Commissioner was party, against the directors for reckless trading – proceedings settled in favour of liquidators with large cash payment, although no portion of payment could be applied towards the debt owed to the Commissioner – in separate proceedings, giving rise to present application, Commissioner awarded compensation against solicitors in their personal capacity for breach of undertaking – whether factual findings and reasoning at first instance were incorrect - whether the Court of Appeal erred in treatment of certain evidence going towards the nature of the undertaking – whether, given the antecedent proceedings by the liquidators, the claim by the Commissioner amounted to an abuse of process. CA 218/05 20 December 2006
Result
Leave to appeal dismissed. 26 April 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Judgment appealed from
Case name
K G L v The Queem
Case number
SC 14/2007
Summary
Criminal – appeal against conviction and sentence – appellant convicted of sexual and assault offences – whether conviction was supported by the evidence – admissibility of evidence at trial – whether the trial Judge’s summing up led to a miscarriage of justice – application for leave to appeal out of time. CA 60/05 4 November 2005
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 22 May 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
LINDSAY v R SC 14/2007 [22 May 2007] (PDF, 17 KB)
Judgment appealed from
Case name
F v The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development
Case number
SC 17/2007
Summary
Civil – Appeal against decision to refuse a writ of habeas corpus in relation to the appellant’s child – whether the Court of Appeal failed to consider the evidence before it – whether the Court of Appeal failed to consider international human rights documents. CA 97/07 7 March 2007
Result
Application for leave to appeal refused. 8 May 2007
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
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