Fulton County, GA v. Andrews

The trial court properly granted summary judgment to the public defenders in their lawsuit alleging that Fulton County breached their employment contracts and violated county laws by paying county attorneys more than public defenders.

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Appellees are current or former attorneys employed with the Office of the Public Defender, Atlanta Judicial Circuit the “Public Defenders” who filed suit against Fulton County, Georgia the “County”, alleging breach of contract and violation of county laws. In their petition, the Public Defenders assert that, pursuant to the Civil Service Act of 1982 the “Civil Service Act”, they are entitled to the same compensation given to attorneys assigned to the Office of the County Attorney the “County Attorneys”. They allege, however, that the County increased the salary of the County Attorneys, creating an unlawful pay disparity between the two groups of attorneys. Following discovery, both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The trial court denied the County’s motion and granted the Public Defenders’ motion. The County appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in concluding that 1 Fulton County personnel regulations constitute the parties’ employment contract, as opposed to the “offer letters” received by the Public Defenders and 2 the County violated the personnel regulations by paying the Public Defenders less than other attorneys. Finding no error, we affirm.

“In reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion for summary judgment, we conduct a de novo review to determine whether the undisputed facts warrant judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56.” Citation omitted. Wright v. IC Enterprises, 330 Ga. App. 303, 303 765 SE2d 484 2014. And, “the opposing party should be given the benefit of all reasonable doubt, and the court should construe the evidence and all inferences and conclusions arising therefrom most favorably toward the party opposing the motion.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Id.

Fulton County, GA v. Andrews

The trial court properly granted summary judgment to the public defenders in their lawsuit alleging that Fulton County breached their employment contracts and violated county laws by paying county attorneys more than public defenders.

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