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.

5 June 2026

Case information summary (as at 5 June 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 89 KB)
Case information summary (as at 5 June 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 124 KB) 

All years

Case name
Terence Easthope v Marion Fusipala Ale (as executor of the estate of Malu Ale)
Case number
SC 22/2026
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A The applications for leave to appeal and for a stay are dismissed.
B The applicant must pay the respondent costs of $1,000.
8 May 2026

Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Fei He v The King
Case number
SC 23/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

District Court decision
Court of Appeal decision
Case name
Grant Stanley Nicholls v The King
Case number
SC 24/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The applications for an extension of time to file the applications for leave to appeal are dismissed.
21 May 2026

District Court decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Grayson James Ottaway v The King
Case number
SC 25/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The applications for an extension of time to file the applications for leave to appeal are dismissed.
21 May 2026

District Court decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
David Stewart Boyd v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections and the Minister for Corrections
Case number
SC 27/2026
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed. 
20 March 2026

Case name
A (SC 29/2026) v The King
Case number
SC 29/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Case name
Gillian James Gatfield and Emma Jacqueline Pearson v Anne Elizabeth Hinton as executor and trustee of the estates of Jacqueline Mary Gatfield and Kenneth Miles Gatfield
Case number
SC 30/2026
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 and the interested parties one set of costs of $2,500.
22 May 2026

Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Allan Magnus Yorston v Attorney-General
Case number
SC 31/2026
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Case name
RH & JY Trust, Jocelyn Yvette Brown and Perpetual Trust Limited v WorkSafe New Zealand
Case number
SC 32/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal 

Result

A Leave to appeal is granted (RH & JY Trust v WorkSafe New Zealand [2026] NZCA 12).
B The approved question is whether a trust and/or the trustees of a trust acting collectively is a “person” within the meaning of s 16 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015?
13 May 2026

Date of hearing
28 July 2026
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Ellen France, Williams and Kós JJ
Case name
James Donellan
Case number
SC 34/2026
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

High Court decision
Court of Appeal decision