New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

Topic

Interpretation of consents

Legal area

Court

10 Dec 2021

SPEARGRASS HOLDINGS LIMITED v VAN BRANDENBURG [2021] NZHC 3391

Citation

[2021] NZHC 3391
Court

High Court

The High Court held the Environment Court's 2020 Decision contained material errors of law—principally misapplying s 104 by assessing effects in an incorrect receiving environment, engaging in an unlawful comparative exercise focusing on Speargrass's lawful development and discounting binding High Court factual findings—and accordingly quashed the Environment Court decision and reinstated the Commissioner's 14 January 2016 refusal of retrospective variation consent.
20 Mar 2020

SCHMUCK v NORTHLAND REGIONAL COUNCIL [2020] NZHC 590

Citation

[2020] NZHC 590
Court

High Court

The Environment Court committed reversible error by (a) declining jurisdiction to consider renewal of discharge consents as they applied to the Esplanade Reserve based on a typographical misdescription without first giving the parties an opportunity to address that issue, and (b) failing to revert to the parties after a site inspection before adopting and applying a Court-derived discharge solution; those breaches of natural justice were material and the Court also erred in law in interpreting the consents so as to exclude the Reserve. The Environment Court decision is set aside and remitted…