New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Credibility findings

Legal area

Court

27 Sept 2023

GSB v POLICE [2023] NZHC 2690

Citation

[2023] NZHC 2690
Court

High Court

The Judge did not err in credibility assessments or in preferring the older boy's evidence; the appellant's and partner's accounts contained material inconsistencies undermining their reliability; the older boy provided sufficient evidence that force was applied to the younger boy; even if the appellant perceived danger in respect of the older boy, the force used was excessive; no real risk the trial outcome was affected and therefore no miscarriage of justice; appeal dismissed.
9 Aug 2023

VAN DELDEN v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2023] NZHC 2110

Citation

[2023] NZHC 2110
Court

High Court

The appeal is dismissed because the High Court, on rehearing, found no error in the trial judge's credibility and identification findings; the nondisclosure of a handwritten statement and notebook entries did not create a real risk of an unfair trial or affect the outcome; and delay did not produce appreciable prejudice amounting to a miscarriage of justice, therefore the conviction is upheld.
11 Jul 2023

BELL v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2023] NZCA 291

Citation

[2023] NZCA 291
Court

Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal was declined because the statutory pre-requisites of s 338 were satisfied, the applicant repeatedly failed to comply with clear procedural directions despite multiple extensions and warnings, she did not rectify the default within the notice period, there was no satisfactory explanation for ongoing non-compliance, and no arguable merit was demonstrated to show the Judge erred in exercising discretion to dismiss.
17 May 2023

YUE v ZHOU [2023] NZHC 1157

Citation

[2023] NZHC 1157
Court

High Court

The High Court dismissed the appeal because the Family Court's factual findings — that Blockhouse Bay was a project of Mr Wen Zhou and held on trust for him, and that the Hobson Street apartment was substantially funded by the Yue parents with the apartment retaining character as the family home — were supported by the evidence and no other reasonable conclusion was open on the record; credibility and weight determinations were properly made by the trial judge and not overturned on rehearing.
12 May 2023

BOWLER v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2023] NZHC 1145

Citation

[2023] NZHC 1145
Court

High Court

The judge properly applied the law, accepted the complainant's evidence corroborated by two independent witnesses, and reasonably rejected the appellant's contrary account; no error in credibility assessment created a real risk of a different outcome and the sentence was within the available range, therefore the appeal is dismissed.
29 Mar 2023

CO PHILIPPINES v IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION TRIBUNAL [2023] NZHC 654

Citation

[2023] NZHC 654
Court

High Court

Leave for judicial review was refused because the applicant did not establish a bona fide and seriously arguable ground of review: the IPT either considered the article (albeit described imprecisely) or was entitled to give it little or no weight given provenance and content issues, the alleged factual errors were immaterial to the outcome, and the high statutory threshold for leave under s 249 was not met.
24 Mar 2023

WALLACE AND GLOVER v RNZSPCA [2023] NZHC 617

Citation

[2023] NZHC 617
Court

High Court

Body‑cam recordings were not admitted as fresh evidence because they were disclosed pretrial and could have been adduced at trial; the trial judge's adverse credibility findings were supportable on the record and prosecution witnesses were properly assessed as credible; a nine‑year disqualification was a lawful, open and proportionate exercise of s169(3) having regard to the extent and wilfulness of neglect and other s169 factors; the costs order was properly founded on s173(1) and proportionate as a contribution to SPCA expenses.
31 Oct 2022

W v W [2022] NZCA 512

Citation

[2022] NZCA 512
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court allowed the extension of time because the delay was moderate and adequately explained by the traumatic effect of the Family Court judgment and subsequent costs judgment, there was no demonstrated incremental prejudice from the delay, the High Court had erred by treating Family Court factual and credibility findings as conclusive in deciding the extension, and the proposed appeal was not clearly hopeless under the Almond v Read test so the interests of justice required granting leave.
14 Oct 2022

LOWE v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2022] NZHC 2672

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2672
Court

High Court

Appellate court found the trial judge's credibility assessment relied on flawed reasoning and illogical inferences (misstated chronology, unjustified inference about hammer placement, and erroneous rejection of appellant's account). Those flaws created reasonable doubt whether words amounted to a threat or whether the hammer was used/threatening, producing a miscarriage of justice; under s233 the interests of justice required acquittal and setting aside of sentence.
18 Aug 2022

KUMAR v KUMAR [2022] NZHC 2043

Citation

[2022] NZHC 2043
Court

High Court

The High Court dismissed the appeal: the District Court did not err in law or fact. The oral agreement established respondent advanced funds to appellant repayable on refinancing or sale; funds sourced via companies were advances by the respondent using companies as vehicles and the debt is owed to him personally; available bank withdrawals and produced documents supported the relevant category of payments despite imperfect record keeping.