New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Identification

Legal area

Court

14 May 2019

TAIWHANGA v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 1164

Citation

[2019] NZHC 1164
Court

High Court

The trial Judge's factual findings and inferences were reasonable: the defendant was linked to the scene by proximity of arrest, directing police to the bench and matching description; the Judge implicitly rejected the defendant's explanation; it was reasonable to infer masturbation from the observed movements and that such conduct was indecent in public; no miscarriage of justice occurred and the conviction stands.
4 Apr 2017

R (CA602/2016) v R [2017] NZCA 107

Citation

[2017] NZCA 107
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the Palmerston North and Wellington allegations were cross‑admissible as propensity evidence because their similarities produced high probative value that outweighed the risk of prejudice, so refusal to sever and to grant a mistrial was correct; the disclosure delay did not make the trial unfair.
13 Dec 2016

WU v MONCUR [2016] NZHC 3017

Citation

[2016] NZHC 3017
Court

High Court

Court found the plaintiff was identified with the username 'Wu Fu' but, when assessed in the context of the FML forum the defendant's post was not defamatory because it was an opinion directed at the content of the 'Wu Fu' post rather than an allegation of bad character about the plaintiff; alternatively the defendant established the defence of honest opinion for both her forum post and her republication of the Truth article, and the defamation claim was dismissed.
1 Dec 2016

ADAMS v R [2016] NZCA 570

Citation

[2016] NZCA 570
Court

Court of Appeal

Leave to appeal was granted; the Court held that the prior convictions from Pukekohe (2009), Devonport (2009) and Palmerston North (2012) were, because of a distinctive pattern (notably clustering, target type, unsophisticated entry, recklessness and cash focus), sufficiently probative to be admissible as propensity evidence in respect of the clustered current charges, because probative value outweighed any risk of unfair prejudice which was small and manageable by directions, but quashed the District Court ruling insofar as it admitted those prior convictions as propensity evidence for charg…
29 Sept 2016

ALISTAIR STUART LYON v R [2016] NZSC 129

Citation

[2016] NZSC 129
Court

Supreme Court

The Court dismissed the leave application because the Court of Appeal reasonably preferred counsel's account over the applicant's, found the retraction statement of uncertain provenance and limited weight, found the applicant's conduct inconsistent with the defences he later alleged, and concluded there was no appearance of a miscarriage of justice warranting further appeal.
18 Jul 2012

FIRST SOVEREIGN TRUST v NEW ZEALAND RACING BOARD HC WN CIV 2011-485-0003

Citation

openlaw-f841ce17_0ee6_4812_9f05_2b31b8dc74b9.pdf
Court

High Court

The press release's words were capable of bearing the pleaded defamatory meanings and therefore the question of ordinary meaning, identification, punitive damages and pecuniary loss are matters for the jury; the misnamed first plaintiffs (trustees) should be amended to the First Sovereign Trust because the amended pleading showed the Trust was the real plaintiff and no prejudice was shown.
8 Jun 2010

PETERS V TVNZ AND ANOR HC AK CIV 2004-404-003311

Citation

openlaw-c0c7cc7e_a747_42fe_9886_3f734593f145.pdf
Court

High Court

Parliamentary material reported in the Holmes programme could not be used to determine the meaning of the non‑privileged parts; assessed without reference to privileged material the broadcast, taken as a whole, was not reasonably capable of bearing the pleaded meaning that Mr Peters accepted and acted on a bribe and was corrupt; paragraph 10 therefore unsustainable and the second cause of action struck out with no leave to replead.

New Zealand Case Law

TAIWHANGA v NEW ZEALAND POLICE [2019] NZHC 1164

R (CA602/2016) v R [2017] NZCA 107

WU v MONCUR [2016] NZHC 3017

ADAMS v R [2016] NZCA 570

ALISTAIR STUART LYON v R [2016] NZSC 129

FIRST SOVEREIGN TRUST v NEW ZEALAND RACING BOARD HC WN CIV 2011-485-0003

PETERS V TVNZ AND ANOR HC AK CIV 2004-404-003311