David (without the slingshot) v Goliath
Auckland Council won an Environment Court case against David B. in 2023. They base their abatement orders alleging mobile homes are minor dwellings based on that case. David B. did not win because he did not have a slingshot (a lawyer). He argued the case pro se (on his own), never knowing he should have read and argued the case (Elitestone Ltd v. Morris [1997] 1 WLR 687) the Council’s lawyers submitted and the judge cited.
Had David B. retained a qualified lawyer who would have cited Elitestone, the outcome would have been very different.
The Council knows this, but they continue to stand by the case as the basis of asserting mobile homes and tiny homes on wheels are minor dwellings (realty) even though they are not fixed to land and meet every test set out in Elitestone as chattel, hence not minor dwellings.
The PDFs on this page are long, but they are comprehensible by journalists, and should be read if journalists choose to do their job as the 4th Estate.