Allied Steel and Conveyors, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
277 F.2d 907 (1960)
Ford's amendment ordering additional machinery from Allied (defendant) said the deal wasn't binding until acceptance and that acceptance "should be executed" on an acknowledgment copy returned to Ford; Allied began installing the machinery before formally signing and returning that acknowledgment, and an Allied employee was injured by Ford's negligence during that installation period, before the signed acknowledgment was returned. Ford, sued by the employee, sought indemnification from Allied under the amendment's indemnification clause.
Whether, where an offer prescribes a preferred but not exclusive method of acceptance, the offeree may accept by commencing performance.