FORMER DIRECTOR OF the Urban Development Commission (UDC), George Edghill, will have to wait a little longer to hear whether or not Government will have to pay close to a million dollars for firing him three years ago.
After hearing legal arguments and submissions from Monday to Wednesday this week, Justice Jacqueline Cornelius has reserved judgement in the matter in which Edghill has claimed he was dishonourably and wrongfully terminated from his post as UDC’s chief executive officer (CEO) on February 7, 2008.
During the three-day hearing, four witnesses took the stand, including former UDC deputy chairman Lucille Moe on behalf of Edghill, while Chief Town Planner Mark Cummins and current UDC?director Derek Alleyne were summoned as Government witnesses.
Sir Richard Cheltenham QC, who in association with Alrick Scott is representing Edghill, has asked the court to pay his client an over four-year unexpired period of his contract totalling over $800 000.
Edghill, also a former deputy general manager of the National Housing Corporation (NHC), had only served six months in his new UDC job before his services were terminated.
Sir Richard also submitted that the circumstances in which Edghill was terminated caused him great humiliation, noting that UDC’s board of management by rubber-stamping the former UDC’s director dismissal adopted and ratified the manner of the termination.
UDC’s legal team, led by Sir Maurice King along with attorneys Adrian King and Michael Yearwood, submitted that Edghill’s five-year contract should be interpreted to infer a reasonable notice period.
Edghill was sacked less than two weeks after the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by David Thompson had won the 2008 General Elections.
At an after-Cabinet press briefing the late prime minister announced that Edghill and former UDC?director O’Brien Trotman, who was reassigned to the post of urban renewal advisor, were being terminated from the Government agency.
Reports indicated that Trotman had since been paid over $80 000 for the termination of his contract.
Thompson had also disclosed the revocation of the appointment of Andrew Payne as UDC’s deputy director.
