New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Legal area

Court

17 Jan 2024

LOBB v WESTPAC NEW ZEALAND LtD [2024] NZHC 16

Citation

[2024] NZHC 16
Court

High Court

The Court ordered Westpac to provide a more explicit pleading limited to the timeline: when its review began and when the CAANZ package was identified as affected, when the association package issue was identified and when Westpac identified that the 92 Account was affected, and when Westpac notified the FMA; the remainder of the applicant's requests for further particulars and particular discovery were dismissed as disproportionate, irrelevant to pleaded issues, or answered by Westpac's discovery and affidavits.
22 Dec 2023

CATO v MANAIA MEDIA LIMITED [2023] NZHC 3886

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3886
Court

High Court

A stay of execution pending the Court of Appeal was granted because the balance of convenience justified preserving the status quo during the appeal, subject to specific conditions preventing the defendants from increasing secured debt over the relevant property interests to avoid prejudice to the plaintiff.
22 Dec 2023

GUO v HUMAN RIGHTS REVIEW TRIBUNAL & ORS [2023] NZHC 3883

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3883
Court

High Court

The High Court held the Tribunal acted within its statutory powers and applied the correct legal tests; the applicant failed to discharge the burden to establish grounds to go behind PwC's affidavit of documents under r 8.19; PwC provided credible, cogent evidence explaining why certain electronic documents were irretrievable; there was no error of law, procedural impropriety or Wednesbury unreasonableness in the Tribunal's decision, and the judicial review application was dismissed.
21 Dec 2023

LU TRUSTEE LTD v PARKLANE INFRASTRUCT LTD (IN LIQ) [2023] NZHC 3848

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3848
Court

High Court

The presumption that costs follow discontinuance under r15.23 was displaced because the plaintiffs effectively succeeded: the defendant was placed into liquidation by shareholders before the first call making the proceedings unnecessary; accordingly the defendant was ordered to pay costs on a 2B basis and disbursements totaling NZD 5,405.55.
21 Dec 2023

SAVAGE GARAGE NZ LTD v PERAMUNE [2023] NZHC 3864

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3864
Court

High Court

There was a genuine and substantial dispute about the existence and terms of the debt that could not be resolved in statutory demand proceedings; Peramune was put on notice by Savage Garage on 16 June 2023 and nevertheless persisted with the statutory demand and opposition to the set-aside application, so increased costs were justified under r14.6 of the High Court Rules; accordingly Peramune was ordered to pay Savage Garage increased costs and disbursements of $18,182.42.
21 Dec 2023

WATERWORLD LIMITED v TAUPO WAKE PARK LIMITED [2023] NZHC 3859

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3859
Court

High Court

Application for interim injunction refused because, although there was a barely tenable serious question to be tried, the balance of convenience favored respondents: claimant's restraint of trade had limited apparent merit, applicant had not demonstrated likely irreparable harm (brand dilution or safety risks) that could not be addressed by regulatory oversight or quantified damages, and the applicant failed to supply an adequate undertaking as to damages.
21 Dec 2023

DEM HOME LTD v NEW GATE LTD [2023] NZHC 3873

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3873
Court

High Court

Section 23(2)(a)(ii) of the CCA creates a presumption that a successful payee is entitled to recover actual and reasonable costs of recovery; the court must ensure those costs are reasonable and proportionate. Applying that principle the claimed costs were reasonable and not disproportionate to the $240,000 dispute, so Dem Home was ordered to pay New Gate $32,062.70 in actual costs and $1,466.73 in disbursements.
21 Dec 2023

MULHOLLAND v MULHOLLAND [2023] NZHC 3853

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3853
Court

High Court

Although the application was for leave rather than summary judgment, the leave application was analogous to a summary judgment application because the failure related to assessment of whether merits could be determined summarily; given the overlap with the substantive issues and the difficulty of assessing entitlement at this stage there was a special reason under r 14.8(1) to reserve costs so that costs can reflect the merits determined at trial; the earlier indication that 2B costs were appropriate was recorded for the trial judge but costs are reserved.
21 Dec 2023

GIGGLE HQ LTD v GIGGLE LTD [2023] NZHC 3846

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3846
Court

High Court

Because the respondent withdrew the statutory demand without condition before filing opposition or evidence, requiring the applicant to discontinue the originating application, it was just to award costs to the applicant; the r 15.23 presumption was displaced by the respondent's withdrawal and costs were awarded on a 2B basis plus disbursements.
21 Dec 2023

BAKER v BAKER [2023] NZHC 3844

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3844
Court

High Court

The Court approved the liquidators' fees of $504,206 plus GST because the fees, although relatively high in hourly rate, were justified by the complexity and extent of the work, were disclosed to creditors throughout the liquidation, produced substantial value to creditors and shareholders, and fell within the consented hourly rate ranges when applied proportionately.