Kim Medford v Barbados Community College

• Jurisdiction: Barbados
• Judge: Madam Justice Shona O. Griffith
• Judgment Date: 17 August 2020
• Neutral Citation: BB 2020 HC 37
• Date: 17 August 2020
• Docket Number: Civil Suit No: 307 of 2019
• Court: High Court (Barbados)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE

HIGH COURT

CIVIL DIVISION

Before:

The Hon. Madam Justice Shona O. Griffith, Judge of the High Court

Civil Suit No: 307 of 2019

Between:

Kim Medford

1 ^st Claimant

Kadija Medford

2 ^nd Claimant

and

Barbados Community College

Defendant

Appearances:

Ms. Kim Medford, 1 ^st Claimant in person

Ms. Yasmin Brewster holding papers for Mr. Patterson Cheltenham Q.C. for the Defendant

Application to Strike Out Statement of Case — Irregularities in Procedure — CPR 26.3(1) — Failure to Comply with Rule, Order or Direction of Court — CPR 26.3(3)(c)-No reasonable ground for bringing claim — Amendment of Statement of Case without leave after Application to Strike Out filed — Unrepresented Litigant.

DECISION

INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1 On the 1 ^st March, 2019, Ms. Kim Medford filed a document titled ‘Urgent Application’ against the Barbados Community College. The document bore the reference ‘Form #10’; its backing sheet contained a slip of paper adhered to it with the handwritten notation ‘Affidavit’. The document bore no resemblance to a CPR Form 10 application, but did bear resemblance to an affidavit, having commenced by acknowledgment of an oath. The document comprised 70 paragraphs the last of which stated ‘I Kim Medford certify that all facts set out in this statement of defence are true to the best of my knowledge information and belief The reference to ‘statement of defence’ is overlooked with little difficulty. The document appears to have been intended as an affidavit. Appended to it are 39 exhibits.

2 The contents of the 70 paragraphs can most aptly be described as a comprehensive narrative of the affiant's engagement and interactions with the Barbados Community College, which culminated with the unsatisfactory result that she had not to that date been able to graduate. The narrative commenced with the affiant's initial application for the program of Finance and Investment in 2005. It is helpful to illustrate a sample of the affidavit extracted as follows:-

• “1. I applied to the Barbados Community College (BCC) in 2005 to pursue a program in Finance and Investment. I was informed that the program started in 2004 and that it runs every three years. I engaged myself in other activities migrated then applied again in February/March 2012 and was told that the current program began in 2011 and that this Batch would be the final offer as it will be discontinued because of being undersubscribed. I was determined to benefit from the information and skills of this program. I had just returned from Atlanta, Georgia where all the colleges were marketing their programs on every conceivable surface and inviting persons to transfer credits and ladder up to desired degree levels. I know I would be eligible for exemptions.

• 11. I registered to another program as a precaution with the option to transfer to Finance and Investment later. I followed up on my application with the Division of Commerce during the summer of 2012.”

3 The above was paragraph 1 of the affidavit. The next few paragraphs of the affidavit continued the narrative begun in paragraph 1, and chronicled the affiant's goals regarding her intended course of study; a detailed account of her application, registration and course selection processes. The ensuing paragraphs also included a continuum of the affiant's interactions with one Mrs. Skeete, the Head of Department for her course; and the Registrar, alluding to the difficulties and frustrations she experienced, as well as various irregularities she noticed occurring at the institution. Another illustration of the content of the affidavit is as follows:-

• “12. Sometime during my studies too, I noticed that there were no Electives offered on the program though the Program Brochure stated that students must complete four Electives. I brought this to the attention of the Head of Department who told me that there was an elective but I just don't recognize it. I was amazed. I know there were no electives because all the courses offered on the program were set: dictated. There were no options for students to make choices.

• 13. I continued to follow my agenda for my transfer credits paying attention to the requirements for the Finance and Investment program and monitoring the request to the Registrar. I requested the copy of the College Handbook. These books are never available at the time of application or registration to the College. Now that I had a copy of the Handbook I noticed that the College requirement for graduation was for Electives just as the Brochure stated. I had already been granted permission for extra courses so I considered incorporating some of those to this program as Electives so as not to be disadvantaged, should someone wake up and realise that there were no Electives slotted on the program.”

4 The affidavit continued with painstaking detail of the affiant's experiences and interactions with various personnel, including the Principal (new and old), previous and current Heads of Department, Registrar and Acting Registrar, and a typist clerk — all pertaining inter alia, to her selection of courses, failure to pass one particular course, attainment of credits approvals granted and not granted.

By way of illustration, paragraph 30 of the affidavit says thus:-

• “30. Hater contacted the Typist Clerk, Ms. Twena Cumberbatch, who informed me that the program Finance and Investment does not require nor carries [sic] an Elective. She gave no explanation for why the Finance II was removed. This is after the Registrar had authorized these two courses and I had seen them entered on my student Record. This bothered me immensely. How can Student Records be manipulated in such a wanton fashion? How does the Registrar state that courses cannot be taken off of programs when the Typist Clerk, with or without authorization, is taking off, not one but two courses from a student's Record after that student has completed a program and left the College? Had I requested a Transcript sent to a College, believing a specific number of course were listed, I would have been seriously compromised.”

5 The next 40 paragraphs of the affidavit, at that point in time, the originating document filed with the Court, continued in similar vein, detailing the affiant's opinions as to the deficiencies of the Defendant's management and structure of its programs, and her unfavourable conclusions as to the motives and practices of the Defendant. The affiant also introduces her complaint of discrimination and breach of contract by the Defendant, details her inability to take up opportunities for further studies overseas because of the non-completion of her course of study with the Defendant. The affidavit further introduced complaint about the affiant's daughter's entry into and experience in the institution stemming from serious medical issues.

Still by way of illustration, two of the affidavit's final paragraphs is extracted as follows:-

• “66. There is outstanding the three Electives I selected. The Management of BCC should want that any Transcript leaving their premises/Offices and going to other Colleges demonstrate that it is a College, positioned to be a serious contender in the Global sphere of Higher Education. All reputable colleges require that same template of Electives: Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, General Education and Humanities. They allow students a free reign of choices, stipulating only the level required to give students a wide base of knowledge. I know this because I have been prospecting, cataloguing and communicating with Colleges extensively for myself and Kadij a as well as other students that I coach. A sample of some of the very Colleges that BCC has articulation Agreements with bears this fact. KM(39). I am advised that Caribbean students struggle with timetabling because they often matriculate with many courses but not the required Social Sciences and Sciences or Humanities courses. This presents great challenges throughout their registration as some of these missed courses are prerequisites for others or are timetabled when the students have other courses for their areas of concentration.

• 67. There is outstanding also, the matter of the failed course. This issue raises the question of why the Registrar forced me to sit that exam when I was no competent to do so, knowing that there is a Clause in the Handbook that allows consideration for a student to be able to be given a grade according to Course work under the prescribed circumstances. Not one of the BCC Managers seems to know of this Clause in their Handbook. I verily believe this course is redundant to me and the Finance and investment program, a fact confirmed by the new offering to replace it.”

6 These extracts from the affidavit have been reproduced verbatim for purposes of illustration. On the 15 ^th April, 2019 approximately 45 days after the filing of the affidavit detailed above, the Claimant filed a Form 10 ‘Notice of Application.’ This Application now listed a second Claimant ‘Kadija Medford’ and professed the following against the Defendant:-

“The Claimants …claim against the Defendant… that the Defendant wilfully withheld considerations deserving of registered students and committed various breeches (sic) of Contract as per the college's Hand Book during the tenure of the Claimants”

The Application continued on to seek pursuant to “Part 26.3(3)(a) and (b) of the Civil Procedure Rules” (which are the court's strike out powers), an order for specific performance of thirteen listed demands followed by further relief, which are reproduced as follows:-

The first Claimant further claim (sic) for;

The grounds of the Application were identified as:-

• 1. Uphold the Rule for selection of electives and add nine (9) credits to the Record of the first Claimant for three courses (GEOG112, GEOG222 and SOC221)...