New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Amendment of statement of claim

Legal area

Court

18 May 2018

BODY CORPORATE 354994 v AUCKLAND COUNCIL [2018] NZHC 1121

Citation

[2018] NZHC 1121
Court

High Court

The court ordered consolidation under r 10.12, granted leave to add and substitute second plaintiffs on terms that the joinder does not relate back and is without prejudice to limitation defences and that newly joined plaintiffs must provide discovery within one month, required the plaintiffs to serve a supplementary list by 23 May 2018 to address discovery concerns, and granted leave to amend the statement of claim because the court could not determine at interlocutory stage whether amendments pleaded new time‑barred defects and found any prejudice to defendants could be mitigated by extendi…
22 Dec 2016

HAINES AND NORMAN v HERD & RHUMBA HOLDINGS LTD [2016] NZHC 3193

Citation

[2016] NZHC 3193
Court

High Court

A court reviewing an Associate Judge's discretionary forum conveniens decision may take into account material changes in circumstance or significant new material not before the first instance court if that material affects the appropriate forum; where a proposed amendment brings the claim within the jurisdiction of the reviewing court it is proper to disturb the first instance decision; the defendants' asserted errors did not meet the test for leave to appeal and the application for leave was dismissed.
2 Jun 2016

EASTON V THE NEW ZEALAND GUARDIAN TRUST CO LTD [2016] NZCA 243

Citation

[2016] NZCA 243
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal held the High Court did not err in refusing leave to amend because the proposed amendments were late, not properly justified, conflicted with existing pleadings, would cause prejudice by necessitating further discovery, additional evidence and hearing time, and the Judge's discretionary decision was not plainly wrong.
11 Feb 2015

Body Corporate 348047 v Auckland Council [2015] NZHC 128

Citation

[2015] NZHC 128
Court

High Court

The original statement of claim dated 23 October 2013 was a nullity and an abuse of process, but because the plaintiffs filed an amended statement of claim on 20 August 2014 that contained sufficient particulars to identify a potential cause of action the proceeding was not struck out in its entirety; accordingly the court exercised its discretion under r14.1 to award costs to the first defendant on Category 2 Band B ($8,059.50) plus disbursements ($500) rather than awarding indemnity costs.
29 Jul 2014

BODY CORPORATE 325261 v MCDONOUGH & ORS [2014] NZHC 1821

Citation

[2014] NZHC 1821
Court

High Court

Leave to discontinue claims against settled defendants was granted while preserving settled defendants as parties for purposes of SML's cross-claims. Leave to file the 10th amended statement of claim was granted in part and declined in part: amendments that merely update or correct pleadings and reflect expert conferencing were permitted; proposed amendments expressly adding anxiety about structural safety and certain late stigma evidence were declined because they risk prejudicing SML at a late stage. Proposed increases in floor diaphragm remediation estimates were permitted to the extent th…
21 Jul 2014

COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE v NATIONAL CR LIMITED [2014] NZHC 1716

Citation

[2014] NZHC 1716
Court

High Court

Leave to amend was granted because no procedural unfairness or prejudice to the defendant was established, the defendant was on notice and able to respond to updated calculations, and refusing amendment would produce an unwieldy and inconvenient outcome rather than resolving the real dispute.
10 Mar 2014

HOUGHTON v SAUNDERS [2014] NZHC 423

Citation

(2014) 21 PRNZ 721
Court

High Court

The Court conducted a granular assessment of each challenged passage and witness: it rejected wholesale exclusion of the experts' briefs for containing submissions where the opinions were within their expertise and potentially helpful; it upheld specific hearsay exclusions where reliance was solely on third-party statements (eg Meredith on Mr Jim Smith citations) and excluded passages where opinion was speculative beyond witness foundation (eg Harrison last sentence of [73]) or where factual testimony lacked contemporaneous documentary support and would prejudice defendants (eg Lim's factual…
14 Jun 2012

PEPPER NEW ZEALAND LIMITED V CHANDLER HC AK CIV-2012-404-2264

Citation

openlaw-48f2a51a_705f_4f2d_bbe6_3e1bd72c0f2f.pdf
Court

High Court

Leave to amend the statement of claim at paragraph 11 to state the date as 22 June 2011 was granted; an order for vacant possession was granted but the defendant was permitted to remain in the property until 28 days after service of the sealed judgment; costs were awarded on a 1A basis and the claimed disbursements were approved.
16 Apr 2010

THE COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE V PROPERTY VENTURES LIMITED (IN RECEIVERSHIP) HC CHCH CIV-2010-409-000123

Citation

openlaw-19c4e75b_365d_4744_9583_a153eb2d73ae.pdf
Court

High Court

No binding settlement was formed by the correspondence and filing of returns; the receivership materially changed circumstances so the Commissioner was entitled to file an amended claim; there are not clear and persuasive grounds to stay the liquidation or restrain advertising; assuming leave was required to file the amended statement of claim, leave is granted because the amendment is necessary to resolve the real controversy and causes no illegitimate prejudice; costs awarded 2B and a short temporary stay was granted pending possible appeal.
16 Apr 2008

MARK AND RANKINE AND ORS V THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND ORS HC WN CIV 2002-485-799

Citation

openlaw-cd033d4c_fdde_4540_a04c_105dab415d4c.pdf
Court

High Court

Leave to file and serve the proposed amended consolidated statement of claim was granted and, exercising case management powers, the Court vacated the substantive fixture scheduled for 26 May 2008, directed the Registrar to liaise with counsel to allocate a new firm (and consider a back-up) fixture, ordered counsel to file a joint or sequential individual memorandum proposing a new timetable within 15 working days, and reserved costs.