He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.

(D & C Builders v Rees [1966]) Consider critically the contribution made by equity to the law. To what extent does it remain relevant today? Equity means fairness. It was developed to reduce the harshness of common law, which at the time the only form of compensation was damages. A set of equitable maxims were developed to act as guidelines for others to follow. 1) Equity looks at the form and not the intention This explained in the sense that equity looks at what the parties try to achieve rather than the mistake in formalities this is seen in the case of Berry vs Berry in which a simple deed was to be altered by a simple contract under common law a deed can be altered by another deed but it doesnt apply in the case of equity. So equity decided to look at what the parties

intended while trying to alter the contract rather than the mistake they made. 2) He who comes to equity must come with clean hands This basically mean that equitable remedies would not be given to someone who has acted unfairly or unjustly this is shown in the case of D&C Builders Ltd vs Rees in which the construction company did a job for the Rees but the Rees refused to pay their bills in full, so the Rees went to court even thought they knew that the builders were suffering from financial problems they still refused to pay the bills, Lord Denning refused to apply this doctrine because the Rees has taken advantage of he fact that the builders were suffering from financial difficulties. Therefore the Rees cam e to Equity with unclean hands. 3) Delay defeats Equity This basically means that the Plaintiff must not wait too long before issuing their claim because it can lead to unfairness to the

other party. In the case of Leaf vs International Galleries in which the party bought a constable painting 5 years ago, however, the painting was fake but the court didn not grant equitable remedies cause it took too long for the plaintiff to report that the constable was fake. 4) Equity will not suffer a wrong without a remedy This gives room for more remedies to be developed as new cases comes about. This maxim makes it adaptable in modern times.