Stone Mountain Collision Center filed an action against its insurer, General Casualty Company of Wisconsin, alleging breach of its insurance contract. General Casualty moved for summary judgment, arguing that the complaint was barred by the two-year limitation period contained in the applicable insurance policy. The trial court agreed with General Casualty and granted its motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Stone Mountain Collision argues that General Casualty waived the limitation period. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court. Summary judgment is proper when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. A de novo standard of review applies to an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, and we view the evidence, and all reasonable conclusions and inferences drawn from it, in the light most favorable to the nonmovant.1 So viewed, the record shows that Stone Mountain Collision purchased a commercial policy from General Casualty,2 which was effective from April 9, 2005 to April 9, 2006. The insurance policy provided that any action against the insurer must be “brought within 2 years after the date on which the direct physical loss or damage occurred.” Stone Mountain Collision suffered a loss from theft during November of 2005. Steve McClearn, owner of Stone Mountain Collision, informed General Casualty of the loss on January 16, 2006. In a reservation of rights letter dated February 7, 2006, Teresa Nabors, a claim analyst with General Casualty, informed McClearn that there was a problem regarding coverage and that although General Casualty would investigate the claim, it would not waive its right to assert as defenses the provisions in the policy. On February 13, 2006, McClearn was instructed to send all future correspondence regarding his claim to Micheal Manning of Independent Adjusters. On November 17, 2006, Manning sent a letter to McClearn offering to settle the claim at the actual cash value of $75,577.85, upon receipt of the proof of loss, and informed McClearn that if he replaced the tools within 180 days as provided by the policy, he may be able to claim some or all of an additional $17,533.97, which would be held by General Casualty. On January 23, 2007, Manning extended the same offer, enclosing another copy of the proof of loss form. On January 26, 2007, Manning sent another letter to McClearn, specifically rejecting counteroffers of $130,000 and $84,537.71, and extending the same offer made in the two previous letters. On May 17, 2007, Manning extended the deadline to purchase replacement tools to June 17, 2007, and restated the previous offer.
On March 3 and 12, 2008, Stone Mountain Collision’s attorney forwarded letters of representation to Manning asking that Manning contact him to resolve the case. In a letter to Nabors, the insurer’s claim analyst, on April 3, 2008, Stone Mountain Collision demanded $84,557 to settle the case, referencing prior conversations between McClearn and Manning, from which McClearn concluded that General Casualty would settle the case for $84,000. On April 29, 2008, Nabors forwarded another proof of loss form to Stone Mountain Collision, extending the same offer made by Manning and indicating that General Casualty would issue a check in that amount upon its receipt of the proof of loss. On June 20, 2008, Stone Mountain Collision sent Nabors the original sworn proof of loss but changed the claim amount to $84,287.58. On July 1, 2008, Nabors again restated the offer. On July 3, 2008, Stone Mountain Collision rejected General Casualty’s offer but indicated its desire to continue to negotiate. When the insurer failed to respond, Stone Mountain Collision filed a complaint on or about July 23, 2008. General Casualty filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted on the ground that the two-year contractual limitation period barred Stone Mountain Collision’s action.
