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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.

14 May 2024

Case information summary 2024 (as at 14 May 2024) –  Cases where leave granted (121 KB)
Case information summary 2024 (as at 14 May 2024)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 92 KB)

2018

Case name
Commercial Factors Limited v Jeffrey Philip Meltzer, Lloyd James Hayward and Arron Leslie Heath
Case number
SC 111/2018
Summary
Civil appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in holding that the appellant funder was not entitled to payment according to the terms of its litigation funding agreement with the respondents as liquidators of Blue Chip New Zealand Ltd.
Result
A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
B The applicant must pay to the respondents costs of $2,500.
27 February 2019
High Court decision
COMMERCIAL FACTORS LIMITED v MELTZER & ORS [2017] NZHC 3267 [20 December 2017]
Court of Appeal decision
COMMERCIAL FACTORS LTD v MELTZER [2018] NZCA 505 [16 November 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
COMMERCIAL FACTORS LIMITED v MELTZER & ORS [2019] NZSC 17 [27 February 2019] (PDF, 198 KB)
Case name
John Gary Davidoff v The Queen
Case number
SC 112/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing the applicant’s appeal against conviction.
Result
A The application for an extension of time to appeal is granted.
B The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
20 March 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
DAVIDOFF v R [2018] NZCA 439 [18 October 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
JOHN GARRY DAVIDOFF v R [2019] NZSC 30 [20 March 2019] (PDF, 45 KB)
Case name
Shreesh Basnyat v New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 113/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Sentencing Act 2002 – Whether there are exceptional circumstances justifying a direct appeal against a decision of the High Court dismissing an appeal against a refusal to discharge the applicant without conviction.
Result
The application for leave to appeal is dismissed.
5 March 2019
High Court decision
BASNYAT v POLICE [2018] NZHC 51 [5 February 2018]
Court of Appeal decision
BASNYAT v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2018] NZCA 486 [8 November 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
SHREESH BASNYAT v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZSC 21 [5 March 2019] (PDF, 195 KB)
Case name
H v The Queen
Case number
SC 114/2018
Summary
Order prohibiting publication of the judgment or any part of the proceedings (including the result) in the news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of the trial. Publication in a law report or law digest permitted.  
Result

Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including the result) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of trial. Publication in law report or law digest permitted.
27 February 2019
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
High Court/District Court judgment
Not publicly available
Case name
P v The Queen
Case number
SC 115/2018
Summary
Order prohibiting publication of the judgment or any part of the proceedings (including the result) in the news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of the trial. Publication in a law report or law digest permitted.  
Result

Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including the result) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of trial. Publication in law report or law digest permitted.
27 February 2019
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
High Court/District Court judgment
Not publicly available
Case name
Lodge Real Estate Limited, Monarch Real Estate Limited, Brian King and Jeremy O'Rourke v Commerce Commission
Case number
SC 116/2018
Summary
Civil Appeal – Commerce Act 1986, s 30 – Whether there must be a moral obligation for the purposes of price fixing – Whether there was an agreement to vendor fund – Whether the Court of Appeal erred in allowing the respondent’s appeal against the High Court’s decision.
Result
A An extension of time to file the application for leave to appeal is granted.
B Leave to appeal is granted (Commerce Commission v Lodge Real Estate Ltd [2018] NZCA 523) on the question whether the Court of Appeal should have allowed the respondent’s appeal to that Court except as set out at C below.
C To the extent the application for leave seeks to argue that the respondent had not adequately pleaded and to appeal from the dismissal of the applicants’ cross appeal the application is dismissed.
19 March 2019
___________________

A The appeal is dismissed.
B The appellants must pay costs of $35,000 plus usual disbursements to the respondent.
2 April 2020
Judges
Winkelmann CJ, Glazebrook, O'Regan, Ellen France and Williams JJ
Transcripts
Media Releases
High Court decision
COMMERCE COMMISSION v LODGE REAL ESTATE LTD & ORS [2017] NZHC 1497 [2 November 2017]
Court of Appeal decision
COMMERCE COMMISSION v LODGE REAL ESTATE LIMITED [2018] NZCA 523 [23 November 2018]
Leave judgment - leave granted
LODGE REAL ESTATE LIMITED v COMMERCE COMMISSION [2019] NZSC 28 [19 March 201 (PDF, 244 KB)
Substantive judgment
LODGE REAL ESTATE LIMITED v COMMERCE COMMISSION [2020] NZSC 25 [2 April 2020] (PDF, 318 KB)
Case name
Liu Ping and Xing Li v Yue LI, Jing Chen, Kuhua Lu and Xiaoan Chen 
Case number
SC 117/2018
Summary
Civil Appeal – Whether or not the Court of Appeal erred in ordering that the applicants’ solicitor and her firm are disqualified from acting in the proceeding.
Result
A Notice of Abandonment  having been filed the application for leave to appeal is deemed to be dismissed.
20 February 2019
High Court decision
LIU v LV & Ors [2017] NZHC 2277 [20 September 2017]
Court of Appeal decision
LI v LIU [2018] NZCA 528 [26 November 2018]
Case name
Peter John Chambers v The Queen 
Case number
SC 118/2018
Summary
Criminal Appeal – Whether the Court of Appeal erred by not admitting evidence under section 44 of the Evidence Act 2006.
Result
The applications for leave to appeal are dismissed.
22 February 2019
District Court decision
Not publicly available
Court of Appeal decision
ARONA & CHAMBERS v R [2018] NZCA 427 [12 October 2018]
Leave judgment - leave dismissed
MARK ARONA AND PETER CHAMBERS v R [2019] NZSC 12 [22 February 2019] (PDF, 45 KB)
Case name
W v The Queen
Case number
SC 119/2018
Summary
Order prohibiting publication of the judgment or any part of the proceedings (including the result) in the news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of the trial. Publication in a law report or law digest permitted.   
Result

Order prohibiting publication of the judgment and any part of the proceedings (including the result) in news media or on the internet or other publicly available database until final disposition of trial remains in force.  Publication in law report or law digest permitted.
11 March 2019
Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
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