Boeing vows to appeal Navy-jet case to US high court

*Appeals court refuses rehearing

*Stealth fighter contract canceled in 1991

ATLANTA Nov 24 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said it planned an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal appellate court refused to rehear its appeal in a long-running lawsuit over the U.S. Navy's 1991 termination of a contract to develop a stealth fighter jet.

Boeing general counsel J. Michael Luttig expressed disappointment after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., declined to rehear the case on Tuesday.

"The Court of Appeals' decision is clearly wrong as a matter of law and it has broad implications for all forms of government contracting nationwide," Luttig said in a statement.

McDonnell Douglas, now owned by Boeing, and defense contractor General Dynamics (GD.N) were initially awarded the Navy contract to build the A-12 attack jet in the late 1980s. When the Defense Department ended the program in 1991, the companies' challenged the termination.

Boeing said in its statement that at issue in the case was how the Pentagon ended the aircraft program, and whether it and General Dynamics were owed money for work in progress and other expenses.

A trial court originally ruled in favor of the contractors, but various appeals over the years have delayed a final decision, Boeing's statement added.

A General Dynamics spokesman did not immediately offer a comment.

The case is: McDonnell Douglas Corporation, et al. vs. United States, 2007-5111, -5131, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs, editing by Leslie Gevirtz) ((karen.jacobs@thomsonreuters.com + 1 404 493 3656; Reuters Messaging: karen.jacobs.reuters.com@reuters.net))