WAITARA LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED V NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT COUNCIL SC 23/2007
The application for leave is dismissed because the proposed appeal could not succeed: a contract conditioned on the passage of authorising legislation would permit the Council to obtain parliamentary authority to depart from any trust constraints, so it was not unlawful for the Council to resolve to enter into such...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- SC 23/2007
- Parties
- Applicant: Waitara Leaseholders Association Incorporated; Respondent: New Plymouth District Council
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Jurisdiction
- New Zealand
- Judgment Date
- 20 June 2007
- Procedural Posture
- Leave to Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court
- Outcome
- Application for leave to appeal dismissed
- Legal Topics
- Statutory Trust, Sale of Council Land, Authorising Legislation Requirement, Leave to Appeal
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Waitara Leaseholders Association Incorporated
Applicant
New Plymouth District Council
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Leave to Appeal / Application for Leave to Appeal to the Supreme Court
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether the land vested in the Council was held on a statutory trust or for charitable purposes
- 2 Whether the Council could lawfully enter into a conditional contract to sell the land to the Crown subject to passage of authorising legislation
- 3 Whether entering into such a conditional contract was unlawful and thus justiciable on appeal
Ratio Decidendi
The application for leave is dismissed because the proposed appeal could not succeed: a contract conditioned on the passage of authorising legislation would permit the Council to obtain parliamentary authority to depart from any trust constraints, so it was not unlawful for the Council to resolve to enter into such a contract.
Court Disposition
Application for leave to appeal dismissed
Orders
- The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs of $2,500 to the respondent
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
WAITARA LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED V NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT COUNCIL SC 23/2007 20 June 2007IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW ZEALAND SC 23/2007 [2007] NZSC 44BETWEEN WAITARA LEASEHOLDERS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED Applicant AND NEW PLYMOUTH DISTRICT COUNCIL Respondent Court: Blanchard, Tipping and McGrath JJ Counsel: D J King and S Hucker for Applicant D J Goddard QC and J Shackleton for Respondent Judgment: 20 June 2007JUDGMENT OF THE COURT A The application for leave to appeal is dismissed with costs of $2,500 to the respondent. REASONS[1] The applicant is seeking leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal which reversed decisions of the High Court. [2] The applicant is seeking to have set aside a decision of the Council to enter into a conditional sale to the Crown of land vested in the Council. In our view, whether or not the Court of Appeal was right to conclude that the land was held on a statutory trust, rather than for charitable purposes, there is a fundamental difficulty with the proposed appeal which means that it could not succeed. That difficulty faced by the applicant is that it would be a term of the contract with the Crown that the land would not be transferred by the Council to the Crown until authorising legislation has been passed by Parliament. Even if the land were held upon trust inthe way claimed by the applicant, contrary to the view of the Court of Appeal, it would always be open to the Council to approach Parliament for legislation authorising a departure from the terms of the trust. It therefore cannot possibly be unlawful for the Council to resolve to enter into a contract with the Crown which is subject to the passage of legislation of that kind.Solicitors: Dennis King Law, New Plymouth, for Applicant Simpson Grierson, Wellington for Respondent