Unpaid allowances, unused leave: Ex-diplomat seeks $250,000 from State

A retired diplomat has successfully pursued his lawsuit against the State over $250,000 in unpaid salary allowances and unused vacation leave.

Guardian Media understands that lawyers representing former ambassador Anthony Edghill filed the lawsuit against the Office of the Attorney General last year.

In September, High Court Judge Avason Quinlan-Williams issued directions for Edghill’s attorneys to file submissions and for the State to file its defence.

Edghill’s lawyers Martin George and Sara Martinez then filed for a default judgment after State attorneys missed their deadline for filing their defence.

While Quinlan-Williams upheld the application for default judgment on December 30, Edghill could not immediately seek to enforce it against the AG’s Office as his legal team was awaiting a copy of the offical court order to do so.

The documents were eventually issued by the court yesterday, clearing the way for Edghill to seek to recover his compensation.

Edghill, a long-serving public servant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, served over 16 years at this country’s foreign missions in Venezuela, Canada and the United States before he was eventually appointed as ambassador to Venezuela in 2011.

He also served as director in the ministry’s Caricom and Caribbean Affairs Division.

BY: Derek Achong