KINGSTON, Jamaica — The ongoing legal battle between Acting Principal of Jamaica College, Wayne Robinson, and former Jamaica College Old Boys’ Association (JCOBA) president, Major Basil Jarrett takes another turn on Tuesday with a case management conference for Robinson’s appeal.

The case management conference is scheduled to be heard by Justice Georgiana Fraser.

Robinson’s appeal follows the dismissal of his lawsuit against Jarrett by the Supreme Court in March this year. The initial case, filed by Robinson in his personal capacity, accused Jarrett of financial misconduct concerning the sale of uniforms by the JCOBA.

Jarrett, however, countered the lawsuit, describing it as a vindictive move aimed at punishing him for his opposition to the JC board’s decision to retain former Principal Ruel Reid.

Jarrett’s defence labelled the case as frivolous, malicious and an abuse of the court process pointing out that an independent audit of the JCOBA’s financials showed no evidence of missing funds.

Jarrett also argued that Robinson lacked the standing to file the lawsuit in his personal capacity as he had done, and contended that even if there had been a valid case, the actions in question were undertaken by the JCOBA, not by him personally.

On March 8, Supreme Court Justice Opal Smith agreed with Jarrett and dismissed the case but Robinson later filed an appeal, asserting that the case’s dismissal was unwarranted given that Jarrett had not accounted for the financial details related to the uniforms. But in response, Jarrett’s attorneys have reiterated their defence, pointing to the independent audit and presenting hundreds of receipts and invoices to refute Robinson’s allegations.

The ongoing impasse which has divided the school community, stems from the arrest of Ruel Reid and five other individuals in October 2019, for breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act, conspiracy to defraud, misconduct in public office at common law, and breaches of the Proceeds of Crime Act.