Opinion ID: 2286678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Contention of Unclean Hands

Text: The appellants contend that Darling acted improperly in procuring a search warrant and in having the police department of Montgomery County enter the home of Wilkinson, one of the former employees, and take from his home certain drawings, when no criminal charge had been filed against Wilkinson. They also contend that Darling improperly harrassed Brandenburg by having a number of detective agencies calling his family and business associates, and in other ways. They argue further that Darling acted improperly in sending over one hundred letters to various concerns asking if they were doing business with Space Aero. They object to meetings between officers of Darling and the defendant, Phillips, during the trial; and claim that Darling lacked the required candor before the lower court. Because of these actions, the appellants claim that Darling's suit should have been dismissed because it did not come into court with clean hands. In the argument on this appeal, counsel for the appellants admitted that some of Darling's drawings were improperly taken by various of the former employees while they were still in Darling's employ. The question of whether or not the search of Wilkinson's house on the warrant obtained by Darling was legal or illegal does not go to any of the issues which, in our opinion, are determinative of this case. The various telephone calls and correspondence to which the appellants object were not on their face unreasonable in the protection of what we have found to be Darling's legal interest in its trade secret. During the trial, Phillips, one of the defendants below who has not appealed, called Darling's counsel for the purpose of arranging a meeting with one of Darling's principals. The meeting took place without the presence of counsel for either side and without the knowledge or consent of Phillips' counsel. According to Phillips, it was at this meeting that he turned over certain physical evidence to Darling and agreed to state the true facts when called as a witness. At the trial, Phillips gave testimony inconsistent with his pre-trial deposition and, with the court's consent, counsel struck their appearance for Phillips and proceeded to attempt to impeach his testimony. Irrespective of the impropriety of an attorney arranging a meeting between parties to pending litigation without notice to other counsel of record, [5] it was for the trial court, sitting without a jury, to determine for itself the credibility of Phillips' testimony on the witness stand, and, in so doing, to consider what had taken place before the testimony was given. The clean hands doctrine is one resting in the sound discretion of the court; it is applied, not for the protection of the parties, but for the court's own protection. Niner v. Hanson, 217 Md. 298, 309, 142 A.2d 798 (1958). Thomas v. Klemm, 185 Md. 136, 142, 43 A.2d 193 (1945). The court below heard voluminous testimony as to all of the matters raised in connection with this issue and refused to bar Darling from the relief to which the court found it was entitled. We do not find that the court's refusal to apply the doctrine was an abuse of its discretion.