North Pacific Lumber Co. v. Oliver
Oregon Supreme Court
286 Or. 639 (1979)
Relevant factsFree
Oliver's employment contract with North Pacific included a two-year non-compete clause, but at trial he showed that North Pacific's managers routinely encouraged lumber traders to misrepresent settlement amounts between suppliers and customers, pocketing the difference as profit; the trial court denied enforcement of the non-compete on unclean-hands grounds after Oliver left to work for a competitor.
IssueFree
Whether the doctrine of unclean hands bars suits by a plaintiff whose improper conduct sufficiently affected the equitable relations between the parties such that the source of the plaintiff's claim is tainted.