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.

8 May 2026

Case information summary (as at 8 May 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 89 KB)
Case information summary (as at 8 May 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 127 KB) 

All years

Case name
Jinxing Liu v Hua Wu (also known as Danny Wu)
Case number
SC 166/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal 

Result

A Leave to appeal is granted in part (Wu v Liu [2025] NZCA 560).
B The approved questions are:
 (a) whether the Court of Appeal erred in determining that a July 2018 deed found to be entered into by the parties as a result of unlawful threats made by the applicant against the respondent was illegal and void, rather than voidable on the basis that it was entered into under duress; and
 (b)    whether the Court of Appeal erred in failing to determine that, had the deed’s validity properly been assessed on the basis that it was voidable for duress and not void for illegality, the deed was affirmed by the respondent, as the High Court had found.
C The application for leave to appeal is otherwise dismissed.
14 April 2026

Date of hearing
06 August 2026
Judges
TBC
Leave judgment - leave granted
Case name
John Jones v Family Court at Whangārei and Sophie Smith
Case number
SC 167/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

High Court decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Shane Romek Beecham v The King
Case number
SC 168/2025
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
1 May 2026

District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
T v The King
Case number
SC 169/2025
Summary

Criminal appeal - application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.   
01 April 2026

District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Hailing Wang and Linda Wu v Body Corporate 406198 and Ors
Case number
SC 170/2025
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 first respondent costs of $2,500.
6 March 2026

Case name
Graeme Lemanquis Lidgard v The King
Case number
SC 171/2025
Summary

Criminal appeal - application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed 
24 April 2026 

District Court decision
Court of Appeal decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
Michael Kevin Milne v The King
Case number
SC 172/2025
Summary

Criminal appeal - application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
2 April 2026

District Court decision
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
Case name
UV Limited and WX v AB Limited as Trustee of the CD Trust and EF Trust, GH, IJ and KL as trustees of the MN Trust, GH and KL as trustees of the OP Trust, GH and QR as trustees of the ST Trust, A Limited, B, C And D, E and F
Case number
SC 173/2025
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 first to sixth respondents one set of costs of $2,500.
15 April 2026

High Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
Case name
Richard Te Pou Minhinnick v Attorney-General, New Zealand Steel Limited and Waikatio North Head Mining Limited
Case number
SC 174/2025
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

Case name
Liyun Chen, LC1521319 Development Co Limited, RHC Property Limited and Liyun Chen as trustee of the Royall Family Trust v Goodmore Investments (New Zealand) Limited
Case number
SC 175/2025
Summary

Civil appeal - application for leave to bring an appeal

Result

A The applications for leave to appeal are dismissed.
B The applications to file reply submissions are dismissed.
C The applications for stay of execution are dismissed.
D The application to admit new evidence is dismissed.
E The first applicant must pay each respondent costs of $2,500.
1 May 2026
______________________________________________________________________________
The application for recall of this Court’s judgment of 1 May 2026 (Chen v Goodmore Investments (New Zealand) Ltd [2026] NZSC 40) is dismissed.
8 May 2026