Barnes, Presiding Judge.Peachtree Playthings, Inc., an importer of organic sugar from Brazil, retained D. J. Powers Company, Inc. to act as its customs broker to file entry documents with the U. S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). After several filings submitted to the CBP failed to include requisite sugar certificate information, thus resulting in additional duties being assessed, Peachtree Playthings (hereinafter, the “Sugar Importer”) sued D. J. Powers Company (hereinafter, the “Customs Broker”) for gross negligence, punitive damages, and attorney fees. The Customs Broker sought, but was denied, summary judgment. Because the record reveals that the Customs Broker was entitled to summary judgment on all claims pursued, we reverse. Summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” OCGA § 9-11-56 (c). “We review the denial of summary judgment de novo, viewing the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Norton v. Budget Rent A Car System, 307 Ga. App. 501, 501 (705 SE2d 305) (2010). So viewed the record shows the following.The Process of Importing Organic SugarImporting organic sugar into the United States, as the Customs Broker’s President and CEO described, is a two-step process. First, upon arrival at a United States port, the sugar is “entered” into a bonded warehouse; second, the sugar is withdrawn from the warehouse and thereby “entered” into the United States’ commerce. At both steps, an importer of such product is required to file an “entry” form with the CBP. Any import duties that are owed must be paid at the time of the withdrawal entry. It is undisputed that the organic sugar constitutes a “specialty sugar,” and as such, is subject to a tariff-rate quota. Accordingly, a limited amount (“quota” amount) of specialty sugar may be imported at a lower duty rate, while all amounts above that limit are charged at a higher rate. The quota amount is admitted only during designated intervals (“tranches”), which are filled on a “first come, first served” basis. To receive the lower duty rate, importers hold their sugar in bonded warehouses and wait until a tranche opens to enter their product into the United States’ commerce.When applying for a tranche entry, an importer of specialty sugar is required to show CBP that its sugar product qualifies as “specialty sugar.” The importer does this by presenting to CBP a copy of its “sugar certificate,”[1] a letter issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture certifying that the sugar has been tested and meets certain qualifications. It is undisputed that the Sugar Importer obtained a sugar certificate for its product.[2]The Customs Broker’s Services to the Sugar Importer To navigate the tasks of filing, among other things, withdrawal entries for its organic sugar before the lower duty tranches filled,[3] the Sugar Importer engaged the Customs Broker.[4] To that end,[5] in March 2014, the Sugar Importer executed a “US Customs Power of Attorney” (“POA”) appointing the Customs Broker to “act for and on behalf as a true and lawful agent and attorney” of the Sugar Importer to, among other things, “make, endorse, sign, declare or swear to any Customs entry, withdrawal, declaration, certificate, bill of lading, carnet, security filing or any other documents required by law or regulation in connection with the importation, exportation, or transportation[ ] of any merchandise. . . .” The POA expressly incorporated “Terms and Conditions of Service,” a separate document setting forth clauses that pertained to matters such as insurance, governing law, record-keeping, and the Customs Broker’s limited liability. Subsequently, the Sugar Importer also provided to the Customs Broker a copy of its sugar certificate, which stated that the Sugar Importer was permitted to enter its product at the lower tariff rate on specified dates, the last of which was the tranche date at issue here, July 10, 2015.Thereafter, as a Customs Broker’s employee assigned to work on the Sugar Importer’s account recalled, the Sugar Importer’s sugar was “warehoused and withdrawn as possible, as allowed by the quota openings.” Elaborating on the latter, the employee explained that to qualify for such an opening, any withdrawal entry needed to have been filed with CBP within a narrow time window. Upon receiving instructions from the Sugar Importer, the Customs Broker successfully filed with CBP entries, including quota withdrawal entries. But on July 10, 2015, all five quota withdrawal entries submitted by the Customs Broker were rejected because, as CBP notated back to the Customs Broker, the “sugar certificate information was not properly transmitted.” Specifically, the Customs Broker had neither provided a copy of the Sugar Importer’s sugar certificate to CBP, nor included the sugar certificate number on the withdrawal entries submitted to CBP. By the time the Customs Broker — which, according to its president and CEO, was experienced with raw sugar, but not with speciality sugar prior to its engagement with the Sugar Importer — ascertained the crux of the problem and submitted corrected forms with the requisite sugar certificate (information),[6] the tranche had closed. The Sugar Importer’s product could be withdrawn immediately only at the higher duty rate. Given the Sugar Importer’s forecast of the needs of its own customer, Costco, the Sugar Importer elected to pay the additional duties of $108,891.34.Underlying LitigationTo recover the additional duties paid, the Sugar Importer sued the Customs Broker on a single substantive theory of gross negligence alleging,[The Customs Broker] had a duty to provide reasonably competent Customs brokerage services to [the Sugar Importer], and to reasonably ensure that [the Customs Broker's] actions were in compliance with Customs rules, directives, and practices. . . . [The Customs Broker] breached its duty to [the Sugar Importer] by failing to exercise even slight diligence in filing the Withdrawals. . . . As a direct and proximate result of [the Customs Broker's] gross negligence, [the Sugar Importer] incurred additional duty liability.[[7]]
