The land currently occupied by Robertson Boat Builders will sold by auction, bringing to an end the legal battle on what should be done with the property.

Situated on the banks of the Mahurangi River, the land is valued at over $7 million. 

The Robertson family has owned the land since the 1980s. One brother wishes to expand the boat building business, while the other wants to develop the land for housing, and despite years of attempted negotiation, neither brother could design a mutually advantageous partition proposal

In a bid to end the impasse, an application was made to the High Court in 2019 to have the land sold, and the proceeds split equally between the brothers.

Conrad Robertson asked the High Court in Auckland to order a public auction, subject to Robertson Boats being granted a one-year lease at commercial rates.

Three months after the court application, Conrad Robertson changed his application asking the court to consider an alternative: the land occupied by his business to be split off so he could buy that portion at a fair market price fixed by the court.

Martin Robertson wanted the land sold at auction in a single lot, but he wanted the sale delayed for nine months, so he could sell other property to raise the money to make a bid.

The High Court ordered the land to be sold by auction either within six, or nine months.

The decision was appealed, although Conrad Robertson later conceded a partition was unlikely to work because of the degree of animosity between the brothers. Instead, Conrad Robertson instead asked the court to let him buy out his brother’s share of the land at a mid-2020 fair market price.

This appeal was dismissed. Court of Appeal judge Stephen Kos said it would be wrong to order Martin Robertson to sell his share in the land to his brother for a 2020 price. “In short, Conrad’s new idea also represents a price advantage to him, at Martin’s cost, and is unconscionable,” he said.