Rydman v. Dennison Manufacturing Co.

1. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in his action for breach of an oral contract of employment. The Appeals Court decided that the defendant’s motion for a directed verdict should have been granted, and they reversed the judgment. 4 Mass. App. Ct. 800 (1976). We granted further appellate review. G. L. c. 211A, § 11.

In 1959, when the plaintiff was fifty years old, he applied for and was offered a job as an engineer by the defendant company. Because of his age, he was concerned with obtaining pension benefits — which required fifteen years of service or employment until age…