COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A months-long legal battle over pension payments for the Cobb County district attorney played out in court, as attorneys argued whether the county owes her retirement benefits and supplemental pay.
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At issue are two central questions: whether Cobb County District Attorney Sonya Allen is entitled to her pension and whether the county must pay her additional supplemental money.
Allen sat in a Douglas County courtroom as her attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, argued that Cobb County owes her money because district attorneys are paid by the state, not the county.
“It’s not right, it’s not legal,” Barnes told the court.
Barnes said the county has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting Allen’s eligibility for pension benefits tied to her 30 years of service.
“The county has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to tell her she can’t get her 30 years of service, you just got to wait,” Barnes argued.
Cobb County’s attorney, Harold Melton, countered that Allen cannot receive both benefits and said she should have known about the pension restrictions.
“In January of 2000, that’s when the suspension provision was enacted,” Melton said. “When she took the position of DA, all of that was laid out, and she took subject to.”
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Barnes pushed back, arguing the suspension provision was not part of the plan at the time Allen accrued the right to obtain her pension.
“That was not in the plan at the time she accrued a right to obtain a pension under the plan,” Barnes said.
During the hearing, the judge questioned the county about supplemental payments Allen has not received.
“There’s a supplement that she ain’t getting. What do you think about that, Mr. Melton?” the judge asked.
Melton responded that discussions had taken place over email, including an offer to allow Allen to amend paperwork and move forward with processing payments.
However, after court concluded, Allen’s attorneys returned to the record to clarify the issue of the supplement. The county appeared to indicate that the earlier comments may not have reflected a firm agreement.
The judge has not yet issued a final ruling.
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