AlalÄÄKkÖLÄ v Palmer

[2024] NZSC 56

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW ZEALAND

I TE KŌTI MANA NUI O AOTEAROA

 SC 22/2024
 [2024] NZSC 56

BETWEEN	SIRPA ELISE ALALÄÄKKÖLÄ Applicant
AND	PAUL ANTHONY PALMER Respondent

Court:	Ellen France, Kós and Miller JJ
Counsel:	C L Elliott KC and S P Chandra for Applicant E M Tucker and Q A M Davies for Respondent
Judgment:	9 May 2024

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

ALeave to appeal is granted (Alalääkkölä v Palmer [2024] NZCA 24).

B The approved question is whether the Court of Appeal was correct in the answers the Court gave to the questions of law before the Court as set out below at [1].

____________________________________________________________________

REASONS

1. The first two questions of law addressed by the Court of Appeal and the answers given are as follows:

   (a)Are the Copyrights “property” for the purposes of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (the Act)? 

   Yes.

   (b)If the Copyrights are property, how should they be classified in terms of the Act? 

   The Copyrights should be classified as relationship property.

2. The Court of Appeal then determined that the Copyrights should remain in Ms Alalääkkölä’s exclusive legal ownership, with Mr Palmer receiving a compensatory adjustment from other relationship property to ensure an equal division of relationship property. The grant of leave extends to the question of what orders should be made consequential upon the answers given to the questions set out above at [1].

Solicitors:
Zone Law Ltd, Wellington for Applicant
Gascoigne Wicks, Blenheim for Respondent