Cramp v. Georgia-Pacific Corp.

Robin Cramp sued Georgia-Pacific Corporation and Unisource Worldwide, Inc. for fraud. The trial court granted Georgia-Pacific’s and Unisource’s motion for summary judgment. Cramp appeals and we affirm for the reasons set forth below. To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact, and that the undisputed facts, viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, warrant judgment as a matter of law. OCGA § 9-11-56 c; Lau’s Corp. v. Haskins , 261 Ga. 491 405 SE2d 474 1991. A defendant need not produce any evidence to obtain summary judgment, but must only point to an absence of evidence supporting at least one essential element of the plaintiff’s claim. Id. Our review is de novo. Supchak v. Pruitt , 232 Ga. App. 680, 682 1 503 SE2d 581 1998.

Cramp was employed by Unisource as vice president of customer service from 1995 until Georgia-Pacific acquired control of Unisource in July 1999. Before the acquisition, Unisource provided additional severance benefits to some of its employees, including Cramp. Unisource agreed that if Cramp’s employment was terminated other than for cause, or should he resign following a change of control, between April 16, 1999 and March 31, 2000, that Cramp would be entitled to 12 months continued salary, with the first six months guaranteed and the remaining six months subject to offset by subsequent employment.