Daisley v Whangarei District Council (HC)

Frana Divich and Charlotta Harpur, acting for the Whangarei District Council, successfully resisted an application for summary judgment made by the plaintiff.

The court refused to grant leave to the plaintiff to make the application for summary judgment against the council because:

(1)   It was not satisfied the council had no arguable defence,

(2)   The application was brought two and a half years after the key factual matters became known to the plaintiff; and

(3)   The application was only a subset of the claims made against the council and the court was not satisfied it would make a material difference in terms of the speedy and fair resolution of the dispute.   

The application was dismissed and the council was awarded costs.