Hoffman v. Reinke Manufacturing Co.

Plaintiff-appellant, Elmer J. Hoffman, also known as Pete Hoffman, alleged that defendant-appellee, Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc., a Nebraska corporation, breached an express agreement to develop Hoffman’s unpatented idea for a corner irrigation system and pay him a royalty thereon, or unjustly enriched itself by appropriating the idea. Reinke Manufacturing answered by denying Hoffman’s claims and asserting that any cause of action Hoffman may have had is time barred and that the parties abandoned any contractual rights which might have existed. The district court granted Reinke…