The Superior Court of Crisp County granted summary judgment1 in favor of Blakely Crop Hail, Inc., after finding that John Bullington’s action for crop insurance benefits was untimely.2 Bullington appeals and contends, inter alia, that the trial court erred in ruling that the applicable limitation period was one year from the date Blakely denied his claim and erred in determining the date on which the limitation period began to run. For the reasons that follow, we reverse. As the appellate court, we review de novo a trial court’s grant of summary judgment, construing the evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. To prevail at summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the nonmovant’s favor, warrant judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c. A defendant who will not bear the burden of proof at trial need only show an absence of evidence to support an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case. If the moving party discharges this burden, the nonmoving party cannot rest on its pleadings, but rather must point to specific evidence giving rise to a triable issue. OCGA § 9-11-56 e.Citations and punctuation omitted. Latson v. Boaz , 278 Ga. 113, 113-114 598 SE2d 485 2004.
Construed in a light most favorable to Bullington, the record shows the following. In September 2000, Blakely issued a multiple peril crop insurance policy to cover Bullington’s 2001 peanut crop. The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation “FCIC” reinsured the policy under the provisions of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, 7 USC § 1501 et seq. As noted in the policy,all provisions of the policy and rights and responsibilities of the parties are specifically subject to the Act. The provisions of the policy are published in the Federal Register and codified in chapter IV of title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations CFR . . . and may not be waived or varied in any way by the crop insurance agent or any other agent or employee of FCIC or Blakely. See 7 CFR § 457.8.
