New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Notification

Legal area

Court

21 Nov 2023

KEIR v AUCKLAND COUNCIL [2023] NZHC 3303

Citation

[2023] NZHC 3303
Court

High Court

Costs follow the event. Because the Council and the Simms filed defences and thereby put the applicants to proof, and the applicants succeeded in quashing the Council's decisions, it is just that costs be awarded on a 2B scale with disbursements. Electing to abide after filing a defence does not automatically negate liability; overall justice required respondents be jointly and severally liable for the awarded costs of $37,765.63.
26 Oct 2023

PETERSEN & ORS v KĀPITI COAST DISTRICT COUNCIL & ANOR [2023] NZHC 2994

Citation

[2023] NZHC 2994
Court

High Court

The application is dismissed because the council had no legal obligation to proactively publish the limited notification decision to the entire public; the decision was perfected when communicated to the persons identified as affected; the council correctly applied the distinct s95A and s95B/95E thresholds and reasonably concluded traffic effects were not at the threshold requiring further notification; ecological material did not establish a likely different consent outcome, so relief setting aside the consent was not warranted.
20 Jul 2023

WALLACE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP v WAIPA DISTRICT COUNCIL [2023] NZHC 1895

Citation

[2023] NZHC 1895
Court

High Court

Applicants were prima facie entitled to costs because the grant of the subsequent amended consent effectively provided the relief sought; parties shared responsibility for continuation after 17 October 2022 so costs after that date lie where they fall; respondent ordered to pay applicants $10,516 plus disbursements $440 with costs calculated at category 2B daily rate $2,390 for specified steps up to 2 November 2022.
17 May 2023

POINT CHEVALIER SOCIAL ENTERPRISE TRUST v AUCKLAND COUNCIL [2023] NZHC 1174

Citation

[2023] NZHC 1174
Court

High Court

Joinder of Ockham and the Expert Consenting Panel was declined because any effect on RC2 from quashing the part of the Carrington Backbone Consents that permits demolition is remote, uncertain or minor: RC2's legality does not derive from the Backbone Consents; alternative road alignments exist that avoid RC2 impact; potential effects would arise only through subsequent council reconsideration and are therefore speculative. The Attorney‑General was joined because the Crown is a landowner of underlying land and is a proper party under the Act.
8 Sept 2022

IAN WALLACE LYSAGHT AND ADRIANNE JUNE LYSAGHT v WHAKATĀNE DISTRICT COUNCIL [2022] NZCA 423

Citation

[2022] NZCA 423
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed the appeal: the council lawfully limited its assessment to r13.4.7.1 matters and there was adequate information and analysis in the Report to conclude the adverse effects on the appellants were less than minor for notification purposes; the condition precedent requiring road works is lawful because the consent does not authorise works on third-party land without agreement or separate statutory authority, so the appellants were not 'affected persons' under s95E RMA.
2 Sept 2022

KEITH MERVYN GEORGE HUNTER v AUCKLAND COUNCIL [2022] NZSC 104

Citation

[2022] NZSC 104
Court

Supreme Court

The application for leave was dismissed because the proposed appeal raised factual, case-specific disputes about amenity effects and merits of the Panel's assessment rather than questions of general or public importance, and there was no appearance of a miscarriage of justice or demonstrable procedural error or bias to justify leave.
20 Jul 2022

AOTEAROA WATER ACTION INCORPORATED v CANTERBURY REGIONAL COUNCIL [2022] NZCA 325

Citation

[2022] 3 NZLR918
Court

Court of Appeal

Where a regional plan (the LWRP) defines 'taking and use' of groundwater as a single regulated activity and links assessment of the amount taken to the proposed use (r 5.128 and rr 5.129–5.130), a consent authority cannot lawfully grant a standalone consent authorising only the 'use' of water for a new purpose without considering and authorising the associated 'take'; the Council's grant of standalone use consents CRC180728, CRC180729 and CRC182812, and consequent amalgamations dependent on them, was unlawful and those consents are set aside.
27 Jun 2022

TŪPUNA MAUNGA O TĀMAKI MAKAURAU AUTHORITY v AVERIL ROSEMARY NORMAN AND WARWICK BRUCE NORMAN [2022] NZSC 79

Citation

[2022] NZSC 79
Court

Supreme Court

Leave to appeal was refused because the Court of Appeal resolved a narrow procedural issue by applying established principles; the decision does not raise a question of law of general or public importance nor a principal issue affecting Treaty settlements requiring the Supreme Court's intervention, and obiter remarks left open by the Court of Appeal do not justify granting leave.
3 Mar 2022

NORMAN v TŪPUNA MAUNGA O TĀMAKI MAKAURAU AUTHORITY [2022] NZCA 30

Citation

[2022] 3 NZLR 175
Court

Court of Appeal

The appeal was allowed because the Tūpuna Maunga Authority failed to discharge its s41/IMP consultation obligations by not making explicit, during the IMP and related public processes, the decision to remove all exotic trees on Ōwairaka (a material and significant proposal that the public could reasonably be expected to comment on); and Auckland Council erred in granting non-notified resource consent because the information before the consent decision maker was inadequate on key matters (notably heritage significance and the proper treatment of substantial temporary amenity effects), such tha…
1 Dec 2021

INNOVA TAN LIMITED v AUCKLAND COUNCIL [2021] NZHC 3263

Citation

[2021] NZHC 3263
Court

High Court

The Council erred in law by accepting written approval that was not 'yoked' to the application because the defining aspects of the proposal (notably the size, scale and appearance of structures) were not disclosed to and understood by the affected owner; consequently the notification decision and the substantive resource consent were invalid and must be quashed, with the application returned to Council for reconsideration.