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.

17 July 2026

Case information summary (as at 17 July 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 87 KB)
Case information summary (as at 17 July 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 128 KB) 

All years

Case name
Graeme Andrew Waswo v The Queen
Case number
SC 76/2012
Summary
Criminal appeal – Appeal against Conviction – Indecent assault – Sexual violation – Arson – Whether Court of Appeal was incorrect to dismiss appeal – Severance of charges – Inadequate representation by trial counsel – Whether a direction about propensity evidence was required.  [2012] NZCA 461  CA 845/2011
Dates

Notice of abandonment being lodged, the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed.

4 April 2013.
Case name
Cameron John Leef v The Queen
Case number
SC 81/2012
Summary
Criminal appeal – Appeal against conviction – Crimes Act 1961, s 134(1) – Having sexual connection with a young person – Evidence Act 2006, s 44 – Whether Court of Appeal was correct to conclude that evidence of complainant’s prior sexual experience was inadmissible – Whether Court of Appeal erred that there was no miscarriage of justice as a result of the admission of inadmissible evidence.[2012] NZCA 567   CA 248/2011
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
14 March 2013.
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
LEEF v R SC 81/2012 [14 March 2013] (PDF, 57 KB)
Case name
Malcom Rabson v Andrew Croad and Christine Margaret Dunphy
Case number
SC 85/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Jurisdiction – Whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear an appeal against a Court of Appeal decision to dismiss recusal applications after the substantive proceedings have been determined.  CA 289/2011
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
Costs to respondent $1,500 plus reasonable disbursements.
19 February 2013.
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
RABSON v CROAD SC 85/2012 [19 February 2013 (PDF, 61 KB)
Case name
Kevin Tito v Aroha Tito and John Andrew
Case number
SC 92/2012
Summary
Civil Appeal – Trusts – Whether there was a breach of the Trust Order in relation to the election of trustees – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in accepting this breach of the Trust Order – Whether the Court of Appeal should have considered further the issue relating to a respondent’s receipt of trust monies – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in concluding that the applicant was seeking the removal of the respondents as trustees – Whether the Trust has failed to act in the interests of the owners.   [2012] NZCA 493    CA 856/2011
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed.
14 March 2013.
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
TITO v TITO & ANOR SC 92/2012 [14 March 2013] (PDF, 59 KB)
Case name
Jeremy James McGuire v Lee Grace Sheridan
Case number
SC 23/2011
Summary
Civil Appeal – Fees – Legal Services Act 2000 – Whether applicant entitled to payment of quantum meruit legal fees from respondent notwithstanding s 66 Legal Services Act – Whether respondent agreed to abandon legal aid grant in signing contingency-fee and fixed-fee agreements with respondent – Whether under s 66 permission must be sought from Legal Services Agency before suing for “top-up” of legal aid fees – Whether High Court summary judgment hearing unfair – Whether award of indemnity costs by High Court against applicant unwarranted.[2011] NZCA 15  CA 377/2010
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MCGUIRE v SHERIDAN SC 23/2011 [13 April 2011] (PDF, 8 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed. Costs $2,000 to the respondent.

13 April 2011
Case name
Shane Andrew Ellis v The Queen
Case number
SC 53/2011
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Juries Act 1981 – Applicant convicted in High Court at Wellington by jury trial on three counts of importing methamphetamine – Jury selected in accordance with Juries Act – Whether trial was unfair as jury unrepresentative of population, in particular New Zealand’ s rural population, and did not constitute trial by applicant’s peers.[2011] NZCA 90 CA 739/2009
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
ELLIS v R SC 53/2011 [2 June 2011] (PDF, 55 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

2 June 2011.
Case name
Michael Andrew Keith Hastie  v The Queen
Case number
SC 120/2011
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the trial Judge should have given a Papadopoulos direction.[2011] NZCA 498   CA 153/2011
Result

The application for leave to appeal is granted.

The approved grounds of appeal are whether the directions given to the jury before it delivered its verdicts were appropriate and, if not, whether this gave rise to a substantial miscarriage of justice?

9 February 2012

_______________________

Appeal dismissed.

23 July 2012
Transcript

Hearing date : 7 June 2012

Elias CJ, Tipping, McGrath, William Young, Chambers JJ
Case name
Nathan Stanley Gedye v Colin Robert South, Diane Lee South and Richard James Bureel as Trustees of the South Family Trust
Case number
SC 56/2010
Summary
Civil Appeal – Building Act 1991 – Alleged breach of vendor warranty for compliance with the Act – interpretation of limitation defence in s 91(2) of the Act – the Court of Appeal held the “act or omission on which the proceedings are based” to be the giving of the contractual warranty rather than the building work itself – the 10 year limitation period in s 91(2) therefore did not bar the respondent’s claim – whether the Court of Appeal erred in finding s 91(2) inapplicable[2010] NZCA 207   CA 567/2009   20 May 2010
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
GEDYE v SOUTH, SOUTH AND BURRELL (AS TRUSTEES OF THE SOUTH FAMILY TRUST) SC 56/2010 [5 August 2010] (PDF, 12 KB)
Dates

Application for leave to appeal dismissed.

5 October 2010.
Case name
Henry David Levin and Barry Philip Jordan v Patrick Ikiua, Kenti Apa, Tess Apa, Mark Crosbie, Andrew David Smith.
Case number
SC 123/2010
Summary
Civil – Liquidators’ right under s 298 of the Companies Act 1993 to recover property which a liquidated company has disposed of to certain entities – Whether the company must have had a proprietary interest in the property – Whether s 298 applies only to transactions where the directors are duty bound to obtain fair value in return for the disposition of property – Whether the company had legitimately transferred its assets – Whether the directors of the company had breached their duties by disposing of all profits.[2010] NZCA 509 CA 508/2009  12 November 2010
Dates
Notice of Abandonment being lodged, the application is deemed to be dismissed.
Case name
Paul Joseph Cameron  v The Queen
Case number
SC 54/2009
Summary
Criminal appeal – murder – whether statements made by the appellant were made in circumstances adversely affecting their reliability and ought to have been excluded – whether statements made by the appellant were influenced by oppression and ought to have been excluded – whether statements made by the appellant were improperly obtained and ought to have been excluded - whether the appellant’s conviction was a substantial miscarriage of justice[2009] NZCA 87  CA  568/2008   24 March 2008
Result
Application for leave to appeal dismissed. 12 August 2009
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
CAMERON V R SC 54/2009 12 August 2009
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