Raymonde Dill that her client Neil Crane left "issues'' behind when he quit his job.

Responding directly to yesterday's reports that Mr. Dill "insisted'' Mr.

Crane had resigned and "he (Crane) made that decision ... Clearly there are issues'', Mrs. Jack said her client was given an ultimatum to go.

Mr. Crane, the former facilities manager at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital resigned in October.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Jack called a reported payout of $75,000 recently as a settlement, a "full and thorough'' vindication of her client's position.

She also said the settlement showed there was no justification for wrongful dismissal by the BHB.

The settlement is the equal of all amounts Mr. Crane claimed against the board in addition to his legal costs at Mello, Jones and Martin.

However Mr. Dill said: "The Board finally agreed that, in the interests of all parties, notwithstanding there are unresolved issues which could not be resolved, the Board agreed to settle out of court.'' Mr. Dill also said that since the resignation there had been "considerable discussion'' among the parties' lawyers "relating to issues and a possible settlement''.

Yesterday Mrs. Jack said in response: "We feel we must respond to Mr.

Raymonde Dill's comments in The Royal Gazette and The Bermuda Sun newspapers of today.

"The true position, as Mr. Crane has always maintained, is that he was given an ultimatum; either resign or be dismissed immediately,'' Mrs. Jack said.

"That amounts in law to constructive and wrongful dismissal and that is why the Bermuda Hospitals Board paid Mr. Crane in full at the end of the day,'' she added. Mrs. Jack continued that, in his statement of claim, Mr. Crane said he was called to a meeting on October 26, 1999, with Lucille Parker and Joan Dillas-Wright, who were acting for the BHB.

"They told Mr. Crane that he must either resign or his contract would be terminated immediately,'' she said, adding that was admitted in the BHB's defence.

She added her client was "effectively left with no choice but to resign'' and did so on October 27.

"It is simply wrong to suggest that Mr. Crane voluntarily resigned,'' Mrs.

Jack concluded, adding that if an employer tells an employee they must resign or be dismissed immediately without a justification, the employee has been "constructively and wrongfully dismissed''.

"That was the position in the case, a position for which the BHB has now dearly paid,'' she added.