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Clark v. Head

Plaintiff's contract to provide legal services to district attorney's child support recovery unit was unenforceable against newly-elected district attorney.

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Seeking to enforce a contract he entered into with the Office of the District Attorney of the Cobb Judicial Circuit, Clark filed an action for injunction and for specific performance, which he amended to include a petition for a writ of mandamus. The contract provided that from October 1, 1998, through September 30, 1999, Clark would receive compensation at an hourly rate to provide legal representation to the Child Support Recovery Unit of the District Attorney’s Office. The contract was coterminous with a contract between the District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Human Resources pursuant to which the District Attorney’s Office was to engage in the collection of child support in Cobb County. When the contract went into effect, October 1, 1998, Ben F. Smith was serving as the District Attorney for the Cobb Judicial Circuit, but had already been defeated in a special primary election. On November 11, 1998, six days after being sworn in as District Attorney, Head notified Clark that his service with the District Attorney’s Office was terminated.

After a hearing on Clark’s petition, the trial court entered an order holding that Clark was employed as an assistant district attorney serving at the pleasure of the District Attorney, that Head had a statutory right to terminate that employment, and that the contract was void as against public policy and, therefore, unenforceable against Head. The order denied specific performance of the contract, but required that Head pay Clark for his services from October 1, 1998, through November 10, 1998.

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