JAS election case, AGM postponed to next year

The start of the court case in which the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) is being sued by one of its affiliates, the Westmoreland Association of Branch Societies, was postponed on Wednesday until next year when it came up for mention in the Supreme Court.

President of the JAS, Lenworth Fulton, told The Gleaner that the matter is set for mention on March 29, 2023, pushing back the date for the long-overdue annual general meeting, at which a new executive will be elected.

Fulton also disclosed that the JAS suffered another setback with its legal counsel, Dennis Richards, writing to indicate that he no longer has any interest in representing the organisation, and advising it to get another lawyer.

THE NOMINATIONS

The case stems from an injunction filed by Ian Hill to have the nominations for the executive positions of president, first vice-president and second vice-president reopened, contending that the nominations which were opened in October 2021 and closed in November 2021 were not in keeping with the provisions of the organisation’s constitution. Six individuals have been duly nominated and approved by the board – Clifton Grant and Albert Green for president; Owen Dobson and Tamisha Lee for first vice-president; and Kayan Whyne and Trevor Bernard for second vice-president. Dobson is Fulton’s second vice-president but has since changed camps.

This latest court action has again stalled a long-overdue annual general meeting (AGM), at which Fulton and his first vice-president, Denton Alvaranga, were expected to tender their resignations. The AGM, twice postponed in 2021, was rescheduled for July 13, 2022, but Hill’s action has put that on hold indefinitely.