Commercial Business Systems, Inc. v. BellSouth Services, Inc.

In this appeal, we determine whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant, resulting in the rejection of the plaintiffs claims of statutory and common law conspiracy and of respondeat superior.

I

Commercial Business Systems, Inc. (CBS) filed a motion for judgment against BellSouth Services, Inc. (BellSouth) after BellSouth’s employee, Jerry H. Waldrop, awarded a contract to CBS’s competitor, Halifax Engineering, Inc. (Halifax), in exchange for commercial bribes. CBS asserted three claims: (1) a statutory conspiracy to injure CBS in its trade or business,…