In this second appearance of an action regarding the overpayment of benefits to a retired police officer resulting from an undisputed clerical error,1 Jack and Carol Dodd appeal the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Gainesville, Georgia, contending that questions of fact remain regarding their claims against the City for breach of contract, negligence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. 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. Matjoulis v. Integon Gen. Ins. Corp. 2 Viewed in this light, the record shows that Jack Dodd, who is also an attorney, contends that, prior to his retirement from the City’s police force, he requested from the secretary of the retirement board, Joyce Shubert, an estimate of what his monthly retirement benefits would be under a payout scheme in which his wife would continue to receive his benefits if he predeceased her joint and survivor benefits. Shubert determined that Jack Dodd would be entitled to $2,553.62 without the joint and survivor benefit option and $2,254.34 with the option.
Jack Dodd testified that, following his request, Shubert called him and mistakenly told him that his monthly benefit payment would be $2,553.62, not $2,254.34 as it should have been. Although Shubert testified that she sent a worksheet to Jack Dodd through interoffice mail which contained an explanation of his benefits and the correct calculations, Dodd contended that, although he received the envelope, it contained only a July 11, 1995 letter to Shubert from the plan’s actuary, not the benefits worksheet. Shubert indicated, however, both that she customarily sent such a worksheet to employees through interoffice mail and that she sent such worksheet to Jack Dodd in May 1995, before the letter from the actuary had been written. It is undisputed that Jack Dodd, despite being a lawyer, never followed up with Shubert at any time to obtain a written copy of her calculations for his review.
