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Auckland SPCA v Wallace [2020] NZDC 13192

Published 10 December 2021

Application for recall — animal welfare — seizure of animals — re-litigation — Animal Welfare Act 1999 — C v LT [2019] NZCA — Ngahuia Reihana Whanau Trust v Flight CA 23/03, 26 July 2004 (CA) — District Court Rules 2014. This was an application by the respondents to recall an earlier decision for orders relating to the seizure of animals. The Judge noted that this recall application had been filed after the respondents' abandoned attempt at an appeal to the High Court of the substantive decision. Judgment recalls are granted on very narrow grounds: they do not extend to a challenge of any substantive findings of fact and law, and are not meant to allow one party to represent judgments in a new form or to put forward further arguments. The respondents claimed that the applicants to the proceedings (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) had been misdescribed. The applicants were well known throughout New Zealand and were often referred to as the RSPCA or simply the SPCA. In civil proceedings, a misdescription of the name of a plaintiff or applicant can be rectified under the District Court Rules without a formal court order. The Judge deemed the respondents' application for recall an attempt to re-litigate the proceedings. There was no merit to the application and it was accordingly dismissed. The Judge awarded $500 in costs to the applicant, to be paid by the respondents. Judgment Date: 9 July 2020.

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