CLEAN HANDS DOCTRINEhttp://www.lectlaw.com/def/c202.htm
Under the clean hands doctrine, a person who has acted wrongly, either morally or legally - that is, who has 'unclean hands' - will not be helped by a court when complaining about the actions of someone else.
Unclean hands can be used as an affirmative defense in cases where the complaint is equitable.
How do you explain this to a judge? Yes he paid me for sex on his credit card and then disputed the charge. Originally Posted by MasterBaiter1996
I agree with Lee but you need to just get in your head that you'll probably never see him, nor your money, again.
I have always considered the times that I haven't been paid, or have been shorted, etc., as an occupational hazard.
That guy is a complete dick, by the way.
Elisabeth Originally Posted by ElisabethWhispers
It is disgusting that people would use the clean hands thing against you. Little fuckers know the laws and know they can get away with it. You jerks aren't even being supportive. Probably just giggling with your hand in your pants. "hehehe..stupid bitches!" Originally Posted by KatieKatieNYC
Isn't this what provider black lists are for? And you have the SOB's exact name and particulars so the postings will have a greater impact.
Otherwise, you are figuratively screwed and welcome to the world of small business owners everywhere who have to deal with no/slow paying customers, bad checks and credit card issues. Originally Posted by awl4knot
Have you offered him an alternative to make things square? If so, did he not respond or offer any reasonable explanation (not that there is really a good one).
An established client? That surprises me, except nothing surprises me. Originally Posted by RickO'shayRabbitt
It is disgusting that people would use the clean hands thing against you. Little fuckers know the laws and know they can get away with it. You jerks aren't even being supportive. Probably just giggling with your hand in your pants. "hehehe..stupid bitches!" Originally Posted by KatieKatieNYC
Unless you are reporting every penny of income to the IRS, I would just write off this guy. As someone above said, just consider this a cost of doing business. He could easily turn around and report you to the IRS for not reporting income and your credit card logs would go a long way to substantiating the claim. Keep under the radar and just be careful. Don't let these little issues eat you up. Originally Posted by Captain Midnight
Most people might not understand the "clean hands" thing concerning court.What is at play is that a court will not enforce a contract to do an illegal act. For example, if someone is charging an illegally high interest rate, the court won't enforce that agreement (although they may force the borrower to repay the principal). A court won't enforce a contract to pay a real estate commission if the person isn't a licensed broker and it won't enforce a contract to sell counterfeit drugs. Similarly, a court won't force a monger to pay an escort for her services since prostitution is an illegal activity.
Why don't you explain it to them? I'm not sure how to word it except to go to small claims court, you have to have "clean hands". In other words, there cannot be illegal actions in the equation with the suing party.
Something like that. I'm sure that someone will have a much better definition. Originally Posted by ElisabethWhispers
It is disgusting that people would use the clean hands thing against you. Little fuckers know the laws and know they can get away with it. You jerks aren't even being supportive. Probably just giggling with your hand in your pants. "hehehe..stupid bitches!" Originally Posted by KatieKatieNYCThis troubles me. Why the bile toward us? The OP won't win in court, it's not a good idea to try to blackmail him (cops will enforce that law) and strong-arming him is even more dangerous. So, telling her that her options are limited isn't being supportive? We can emphasize with her predicament, and that is being morally supportive, but beyond that there is little she can do that won't create more problems for her.