Court Decision: Waitara Leaseholder's Claim

The High Court on Tuesday (26 October) issued judgment in favour of the Council, striking out the claim of a Waitara leaseholder seeking damages in respect of the Council’s decision to offer the Waitara leasehold land to the Crown for inclusion in the Crown’s offer to settle Te Atiawa’s historical claims under the Treaty of Waitangi.

 

This follows a decision of the High Court in 2008 which also granted judgment for the Council in respect of six test cases brought by Waitara leaseholders seeking damages on similar grounds.

This latest decision means that all remaining claims brought by individual leaseholders seeking damages from the Council in respect of the decision to offer the land to the Crown are also struck out. The High Court also awarded costs at the upper end of the scale to the Council.

As explained in conjunction with the recent announcement of the agreement for sale and purchase to the Crown, the agreement protects the existing interests of leaseholders under their leases.