The Opposition has called for Attorney General Mark Pettingill to resign because of “a complete and total lack of competence in the handling of his Ministry”.The call was prompted by news that Government had agreed to pay out a $700,00 settlement to an architectural firm that had filed a $1.4 million lawsuit against GovernmentThe lawsuit was filed by Canadian architects Carruthers Shaw and Partners against the former PLP administration in 2010. The company had earlier been hired as design consultant for the new Dame Lois Browne-Evans court building and police station, but alleged that it had been unlawfully taken off the job. Mr Pettingill revealed last week that Government decided to settle after a review of the matter showed it had “no real defence to the claim”. On Friday Mr Pettingill further insisted that, had Government fought the case, it could have cost taxpayers $2.5 million.Last night the PLP refuted that claim, saying that the Attorney General “simply gave away hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars without a fight”."The Attorney General has to date, displayed a complete and total lack of competence in the handling of his Ministry,” a party spokesman said.“Today, the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party calls on Mark Pettingill to hand in his resignation and allow the country to move forward from his shameful time in that post.“The AG's performance at Question Period on Friday is reflective of his incompetence filled tenure as the OBA's legal advisor. When it comes to the CS&P settlement, the AG failed to answer questions, failed to take accountability for his questionable decision and failed to admit that he simply gave away hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars without a fight.“By the AG's evasive answers, it can be concluded that this incompetent and costly decision was made without considering the advice given to the previous Minister by technical experts, Woodbourne Associates, EnTech Limited and Spectrum Consulting.“By the AG's refusal to answer questions it can be determined that his Cabinet colleagues were also not properly consulted, before giving away hundreds of thousands of taxpayers's dollars.“Attorney General Mark Pettingill's performance has been woefully inadequate and Bermuda can ill afford to continue to pay for his mistakes. He should do the right thing and resign immediately."In the House of Assembly on Friday, Mr Pettingill explained that $200,000 of the settlement related to an outstanding bill submitted by CS&P in relation to the Government laboratory construction project at Marsh Folly.He also pointed out that one of the fundamental problems with the case was that large portions of the complainant’s work were used in the final design.“The claim is effectively that they were owed $1.4 million at the time they were wrongfully terminated without cause — the claim was settled for $700,000,” he said.