In a decision released on Thursday, Justice French found that the Commissioner of Crown Lands, having decided in February 2003 to dispose of the land by special lease and telling the plaintiffs that, was obliged to devise a preliminary proposal along those lines.
Instead, in May 2005, the manager of Crown Property for Land Information New Zealand (Linz) instructed staff to review the file, and they concluded consultation with the Department of Conservation (Doc) had been inadequate.
Subsequently, Doc was consulted again and the recommendation was changed to restoring the land to Crown ownership as a conservation area.
Justice French questioned why Doc was consulted twice.
She did not accept evidence from a Linz employee that initial consultation had been inadequate and described evidence from that employee as "somewhat unconvincing".
A syndicated group of farmers has had access for summer grazing to 4400ha of Crown-owned land in the Hawkdun and Ida Ranges near Ranfurly under a special licence for nearly 100 years.
That licence was to expire in December 2003.
In December 1999, a review of that licence was initiated by the commissioner.
That led to the February 2003 decision to dispose of it by way of a special lease.
The outcome of the second review in May 2005, which recommended the land become part of the Otiake Conservation Park, prompted the syndicate to take action against the commissioner in the High Court.
Justice French accepted the syndicate's argument that loss of grazing would lead to "severe viability implications".
She also found several gaps in the way Linz had handled the review of the grazing licence.
The plaintiffs argued that having decided to dispose of the land by special lease, the Commissioner of Crown Lands was required to prepare a preliminary proposal in accordance with that decision.
That had not been done.
Counsel for the commissioner contended that nothing in the Crown Pastoral Land Act required a decision made during or at the end of the review process, to be carried through or incorporated into the preliminary proposal.
Justice French said she accepted the plaintiffs' interpretation was "consistent with the smooth working of the system, but that advanced by the defendant is not".
She awarded costs to the plaintiffs.
Linz has recommended an end to grazing on the neighbouring Mt Ida syndicate, which was not part of the court case, and the land managed by Doc.
