New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Forfeiture of property

Legal area

Court

27 Oct 2022

R v BROWN-MARTIN [2022] NZHC 2805

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2805
Court

High Court

The lead offending was demanding with menaces: the Court set a starting point at 2.5 years, uplifted one year for associated firearms and driving offending yielding a 3.5 year adjusted starting point for Brown-Martin; after allowances for priors, background and guilty plea (net 23% reduction) Brown-Martin was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment. For Witehira, the Court set a 14 month starting point and, after recognising background, EM bail time and guilty plea (net 80% reduction), imposed 5 weeks home detention; firearms and ammunition were forfeited and Brown-Martin received a concurrent 6-…
3 Dec 2020

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE v LUDLOW [2020] NZHC 3187

Citation

[2020] NZHC 3187
Court

High Court

The Court must approve a s95 settlement if it is consistent with the Act's purposes and the overall interests of justice; here the settlement was approved because it forfeited a significant sum that furthers deterrence and the Act's purposes, saved time and cost, reflected litigation risks for both parties and addressed effective control of trust-held property, therefore vesting specified assets in the Crown.
21 Sept 2018

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE v HINES [2018] NZHC 2488

Citation

[2018] NZHC 2488
Court

High Court

The Court approved the settlement because it was consistent with the Act's purposes and the overall interests of justice: the cash was forfeited as tainted property, all known assets were applied to potential profit forfeiture by means of a negotiated payment of $422,777 with staged payments and conditional variation/lapse of the restraining order over 62 Laurel Oak Drive, and procedural safeguards (transfer, security, resale and application of proceeds) were included to protect relationship property interests and public interest in forfeiture.
4 May 2017

DE WYS v THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE [2017] NZSC 62

Citation

[2017] NZSC 62
Court

Supreme Court

The applicants failed to show the Court of Appeal made a sufficiently substantial factual error amounting to a miscarriage of justice; the Court of Appeal's inference that the first applicant was the cultivator and the person removing cannabis was supported by the witness account together with lack of evidence of another adult male and corroborative circumstantial evidence, so leave to appeal was properly refused.
20 Aug 2009

SOLICITOR-GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND V LOW AND ANOR HC CHCH CIV 2009-418-000069

Citation

openlaw-34293a04_bf90_41b6_be90_e4882c7acce1.pdf
Court

High Court

Because Mr Low was suffering a major depressive episode with suicidal ideation and recent bereavements creating a significant suicide risk if imprisoned, the court treated the case as exceptional and imposed non‑custodial but restrictive sentences proportionate to culpability: Mr Low sentenced to 12 months home detention with conditions; Mr Rapley sentenced to six months community detention with a 7pm–7am curfew and 300 hours community work. The court declined to forfeit the family home as disproportionate hardship, ordered forfeiture of $17,000 cash and the Toyota Landcruiser under the Misus…
10 Jul 2009

THE SOLICITOR GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND V HAWKINS AND ORS HC ROT CIV 2006-463-618

Citation

openlaw-55c0d1f9_7d83_4581_bc3c_ab7acca84277.pdf
Court

High Court

Because authoritative De Bruin decisions constrain courts to rarely grant relief to inchoate rights under the Property (Relationships) Act before a Family Court order, the Court adjourned the forfeiture application to permit Family Court proceedings to proceed and granted interim relief to the mortgagee to protect principal and interest; costs were reserved for later determination.

New Zealand Case Law

R v BROWN-MARTIN [2022] NZHC 2805

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE v LUDLOW [2020] NZHC 3187

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE v HINES [2018] NZHC 2488

DE WYS v THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE [2017] NZSC 62

SOLICITOR-GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND V LOW AND ANOR HC CHCH CIV 2009-418-000069

THE SOLICITOR GENERAL OF NEW ZEALAND V HAWKINS AND ORS HC ROT CIV 2006-463-618