Opinion ID: 1187113
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Breach of Covenants. [2]

Text: Paragraph 12(a) of the Declaration of Covenants, in relevant part, provides: No ... structure shall be commenced, erected, placed or altered on any lot ... until ... the building plans and specifications ... have been submitted to and approved in writing ... by an Architectural Committee composed of KARL S. BAKER, O. FRANK STOCK, and A REPRESENTATIVE OF MURRAY-McCORMICK ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP OF NEVADA, or any two of them or a committee of at least two persons appointed by them... . It is uncontroverted that only one member of the Committee (Frank Stock) actually signed respondents' plans. Appellants contend that the single signature was a clear violation of the covenant and an appropriate basis for granting injunctive relief. They claim that their own failure to procure signatures of two committee members before construction on their lot did not constitute a waiver of their right to enjoin respondents' construction. [3] Several factors militate against appellants' contentions. The decision below was not based on a theory of waiver, but on the well-established defense to equitable claims that litigants seeking equity must come with clean hands. Courts will usually deny injunctive relief if the complainant has violated the same restrictive covenant he seeks to enforce against a defendant. See Houston Petroleum Co. v. Automotive Products Credit, 9 N.J. 122, 87 A.2d 319 (1952); Vandershoot v. Kocher, 190 Misc. 1, 72 N.Y.S.2d 121 (1947); Reading v. Keller, 67 Wash.2d 86, 406 P.2d 634 (1965); 5 R. Powell, The Law of Real Property, § 679 (1981); cf. Gladstone v. Gregory, 95 Nev. 474, 596 P.2d 491 (1979) (right to enforce one restrictive covenant not lost by acquiescence in the violation of another). An exception to this rule is recognized if the complainant's violation is insignificant, but defendant's infraction is substantial. See Reading v. Keller, supra 406 P.2d at 636, and Powell, supra. In the instant case, the violations of plaintiffs and defendants, relating to the procedure of obtaining building plan approval, were identical. We find no justification for applying the exception to the unclean hands doctrine under the circumstances of this case. Appellants cannot seek to enjoin respondents, based on a violation of the selfsame covenant they previously violated. The trial court properly dissolved the preliminary injunction. [4]