Wiseline Corporation v Limited

The Court of Appeal of New Zealand heard an application from Wiseline Corporation Limited and Spaceways Holdings Limited to extend the time for applying for a fixture and filing their appeal. The case against them was brought by Rita Hockey, as executrix in the estate of Russell Garland Hockey. The application was made on the papers, without the parties appearing before the Court. The appellants sought an extension of time for appealing several interlocutory orders made by Nicholson J in the High Court at Auckland, including decisions on 26 July 2002, 26 November 2002, and 20 March 2002. The Court found that the appeal in CA245/02 was not brought within the 28-day period stipulated in the Court of Appeal (Civil) Rules 1997. The appellants were not represented by counsel and were attempting to conduct the litigation through a director, Mr. Darby, who was not a legal practitioner.

The legal issues the Court had to decide were whether the appellants had good reason for the delay in filing their appeal and if the appeal had merit. The Court noted that there was no provision permitting the Court to grant an extension unless the application for extension was made within the six-month period from the bringing of the appeal. Furthermore, after an appeal was deemed to be abandoned, special leave under r5 was unlikely to be granted, except in exceptional circumstances. The Court also found that there was no justification for granting an extension of time for pursuing the appeal, as the only reason for delay suggested by the appellants was an alleged need to hear all appeals together.

The Court concluded that the application for extension of time was dismissed. If the appeal of 13 November 2002 was brought in time, it was now deemed abandoned under r10. The appeal of 13 January 2003 appeared to have been brought in time, and the six-month period was still running. However, the appellants might face some difficulty in meeting the requisite test of excusable delay and would also have to show apparent merit.