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Malcom v. Newton County

County's termination of plaintiff's vested right to benefits under county's pension plan violated the Georgia Constitution's guarantee against impairment of contracts.

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Gerald D. Malcom, the former Sheriff of Newton County, sued Newton County claiming the County wrongfully terminated his retirement benefits under the County employee pension plan. Malcom appeals from the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the County and from the denial of his motion for summary judgment. For the reasons which follow, we reverse the judgement of the trial court and find that: 1 the County established a pension plan in which Malcom obtained a vested contractual right in consideration for his service as County Sheriff, and 2 the County’s subsequent action excluding Malcom from the pension plan was a wrongful impairment of this right and was void.

From 1976 until December 31, 1996, Malcom served as the elected Sheriff of Newton County. As Sheriff, Malcom was not an employee of Newton County, but an elected constitutional officer of the County. On December 31, 1996, Malcom’s last term of office as Sheriff expired. On the same day, a new Sheriff was sworn in and took office. Malcom was not employed by Newton County, nor did he hold elective office in the County, on or after January 1, 1997.

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