Supreme Court denies leave to appeal in cost matter arising from demolition decision

Rule 43 of the Court of Appeal (Civil) Rules 2005 deemed the applicant’s appeal abandoned due to her failure to comply with the requirement to apply for a hearing date and file the case on appeal within the required timeframe. 

On 29 January 2025, the applicant applied for an extension of time to appeal.

On July 15, in Pokere-Phillips v Trustees of Te Hanataua Trust, [2025] NZCA 319, the Court of Appeal of New Zealand denied the application for an extension and ordered the applicant to pay the respondent’s costs and disbursements. 

The appeal court determined that an extension would not serve the interests of justice, given the applicable factors. Specifically, the appeal court made the following findings: 

• The appeal lacked merit and would cause further delay 
• Regarding the delay’s length, while the applicant promptly applied for an extension after the appeal’s deemed abandonment, the extension application related to the requirements for filing the case on appeal and allocating a hearing date, which were originally due by 17 September 2024 
• The application to dispense with security and the application for review, which the applicant could pursue, partly explained the delay for the period from the appeal’s filing until 18 December 2024, when the previous extension expired 
• Regarding the applicant’s conduct, the application for a stay of the security suggested that she did not want to and could likely not pay the required security 
• The trustees faced some prejudice, given that they obtained a cost order on 6 June 2023 and had yet to receive that award two years later 
• Regarding the issues’ significance, while the applicant felt strongly about the demolition, the appeal concerned the cost award, not the demolition 
• The court’s deputy registrar considered the merits, which were relevant to the case, when addressing the application to dispense with security 
• Palmer J also considered the merits when reviewing the deputy registrar’s decision 

The applicant requested leave to appeal the appeal court’s cost decision. 

Supreme Court ruling

On Oct. 23, in Pokere-Phillips v Trustees of Te Hanataua Trust, [2025] NZSC 147, the Supreme Court of New Zealand granted the application for an extension of time to apply for leave to appeal. 

However, the Supreme Court dismissed the applications for leave to appeal and to stay the enforcement of the appeal court’s cost award pending appeal. The Supreme Court ordered the applicant to pay the respondents $2,500 in costs. 

The Supreme Court ruled that the appeal raised no question of general or public importance and no apparent miscarriage of justice in the civil context.