The next step in the battle of where James Takamore will be laid to rest has been taken.
Crown Law media adviser Jan Fulstow has confirmed the matter has been passed to the office of the solicitor-general to decide what happens next.
It has been reported that Justice John Fogarty, who had been mediating the two parties since the 2012 Supreme Court decision, decided to no longer deal with the matter.
In 2007 Tuhoe man Mr Takamore died suddenly. At the time he was living in Christchurch with his partner Denise Clarke.
Mr Takamore's Eastern Bay family went to Christchurch and, after finding his tupapaku (body) alone, put him in a vehicle and brought him back to Kutarere where he was buried beside his father.