Hyde v Hyde - [2009] NZCA 125

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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND
CA48/2008
[2009] NZCA 125
BETWEENWILLIAM ALFRED HYDE

Appellant

ANDTANYA HYDE

Respondent

Hearing:26 February 2009

Court:Hammond, Ellen France and Baragwanath JJ
Counsel:R J Harte for Appellant

C L Cook for Respondent

Judgment:8 April 2009 at 2.15 pm

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

A The appeal is allowed.
BThe proceeding is remitted to the High Court for the appeal to be reheard in that Court, in accordance with the approach indicated in this judgment.
CBecause of the course matters have taken we have not found it necessary to determine the fresh evidence application which was lodged in this Court. It will be entirely for the parties whether they wish to renew that application in connection with the rehearing of the appeal in the High Court.
DThere will be no order for costs.
ELeave is given under s 35A of the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 for this judgment and the reasons therefor to be published generally.

REASONS OF THE COURT
(Given by Hammond J)
Introduction
[1]        This is an appeal from a judgment of Harrison J in the High Court at Whangarei ((2007) 26 FRNZ 729), which reversed a judgment of Judge O’Donovan in the Family Court at Whangarei (FC WHA 2004-088-248 30 June 2006).
[2]        The Family Court had held, in the context of a dispute under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (“the PRA”), that certain land was a “family home” under s 2 of the PRA. The High Court disagreed, and held the property was a “homestead”.
[3]         Harrison J granted leave to appeal to this Court on the following question:
To determine whether a family home is a homestead, should the Court—
(a)first determine the extent of the family home by assessing what land, buildings, and improvements appurtenant to the dwelling house are used wholly or principally for the purposes of the household; and
(b)secondly, if the boundaries of the family home do not encompass the entire unsubdivided land on which the family home is situated, find that a homestead exists (subject to the exceptions set out in ‘homestead’ definition b. (i), (ii) and (iii)).

[4] The appeal has been said to raise an important question of law as to the proper approach to be adopted in determining whether a property is a family home or a homestead under the PRA. However, we think that the case may well have miscued somewhat on the facts and, for that and other reasons we will outline in this judgment, we allow and remit the appeal to the High Court for a rehearing.
Background
[5] The appellant, Mr William Hyde, was married twice. In 1980, during the course of his first marriage, he acquired a rural property at Maungatapere, which is some 12 kilometres south west of Whangarei. The area of this property was approximately 80 hectares. It comprised bush and some open space where Mr Hyde grazed cattle. This first marriage did not last.…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Hyde v Hyde

Details

AGLC: Hyde v Hyde [2009] NZCA 125
Case: [2009] NZCA 125
Decision Date: 8 April 2009

CaseChat Overview and Summary

This is an appeal against a decision of the High Court, which in turn was an appeal against a decision of the Family Court. The appeal concerns the classification of a property as a "family home" or a "homestead" under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976. The appeal was heard by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, and the decision was to allow the appeal and remit the matter back to the High Court for a rehearing. The Court of Appeal found that the High Court had erred in its approach to determining whether a property constituted a family home or a homestead. The Court of Appeal noted that the case may have miscued somewhat on the facts and highlighted the importance of properly identifying the subdivisional status of the land. The Court of Appeal also emphasised that the proper approach to the statutory definitions of "family home" and "homestead" should be factual, rather than semantic and formulaic. The Court of Appeal concluded that the appeal should be reheard in the High Court, in accordance with the approach indicated in this judgment.

Orders