Orin Osborn v. Boeing Airplane Company

Appellant, an employee of Boeing Airplane Company, brought this action to recover compensation for the use of an idea he had submitted for improvement of Boeing’s production methods. The District Court granted Boeing’s motion for summary judgment. We reverse, finding material factual issues to be tried.

The parties had agreed to a pretrial order, which, under the heading “Admitted Facts,” described a “Suggestion System” through which Boeing solicited and paid for useful ideas. The pretrial order stated that appellant had submitted his idea to Boeing in December 1955 on a Suggestion System form containing the following printed provision: “Suggestions are submitted with the understanding that the Company shall have the right to use all those which are adopted, and the decision of the Company shall be final and conclusive as to the person entitled to a cash award and the amount of such award.” The pretrial order further recited that appellant had submitted his idea in reliance upon Boeing’s good faith in the administration of the Suggestion System and not upon an express contractual agreement or oral promise to compensate. The single “Issue of Law” set out in the pretrial order was…