a rule of law that a person coming to court with a lawsuit or petition for a court
order must be free from unfair conduct (have "clean hands" or not have done anything
wrong) in regard to the subject matter of his/her claim. His/her activities not
involved in the legal action can be abominable because they are considered irrelevant.
As an affirmative defense (positive response) a defendant might claim the plaintiff
(party suing him/her) has a "lack of clean hands" or "violates the clean hands doctrine"
because the plaintiff has misled the defendant or has done something wrong regarding
the matter under consideration. Example A former partner sues on a claim that he
was owed money on a consulting contract with the partnership when he left, but the
defense states that the plaintiff (party suing) has tried to get customers from
the partnership by spreading untrue stories about the remaining partner's business
practices.
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