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.

20 March 2026

Case information summary 2025 (as at 20 March 2026) –  Cases where leave granted (PDF, 88 KB)
Case information summary 2025 (as at 20 March 2026)  – Cases where leave to appeal decision not yet made (PDF, 123 KB)

2026

Case name
Alisohn Joan Fielding v New Zealand Police
Case number
SC 21/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

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

Court of Appeal decision
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

District Court decision
Case name
Grayson James Ottaway v The King
Case number
SC 25/2026
Summary

Criminal Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

District Court decision
Case name
S (SC 26/2026) v The King
Case number
SC 26/2026
Summary

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 any retrial(s). Publication in law report or law digest permitted.

Court of Appeal decision
Not publicly available
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 Jane Gatfield and Emma Jacqueline Pearson v Anne Elizabeth Hinton
Case number
SC 30/2026
Summary

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal

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

Civil Appeal - Application for leave to bring an appeal