Asmussen v Hajnal

Jonas Asmussen, the plaintiff, sought to establish a right of way over a part of the property owned by Lazlo Hajnal and Mila Relich, the first defendants. The property in question is located at 136 Cleveland Terrace, Nelson. The dispute originated from the plaintiff's long-standing vehicular access to his property at 142 Cleveland Terrace, which had been granted via a driveway across the first defendants' land. The matter has previously been determined by Wild J, who ordered that the plaintiff obtain permission from the Nelson City Council under the Local Government Act 1974 and subsequently registered the right of way. The first defendants refused to sign the necessary documentation for the registration due to a dispute over the extent of their verandah overhanging the driveway. The court was required to determine whether the overhang necessitated a re-alignment of the right of way and whether the plaintiff's process for obtaining council permission was valid.

The court found that the overhang of the verandah was not substantial enough to require a re-alignment of the right of way. The court also determined that the plaintiff's process for obtaining council permission was valid, and the first defendants' refusal to sign the documentation was based on an attempt to delay the registration of the right of way. The court further held that the first defendants' objections to the easement certificate were not valid, as they had not been raised during the previous hearings. The court confirmed the provision that if the first defendants continued to refuse to sign the documents, the Registrar would be directed to sign the documents on their behalf to enable registration of the right of way to proceed.

The court ordered that the right of way be registered over the first defendants' property in accordance with the terms previously ordered. The court also directed the Registrar to sign the necessary documents on behalf of the first defendants if they continued to refuse to sign them. The court emphasised the importance of resolving the matter to avoid further delays and disputes between the parties.