Artist Shepard Fairey And The Hyde Park County Club Share Something In Common: Legal Doctrine Of Unclean Hands

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The attorney defending Cincinnati's swanky Hyde Park Country Club against a whistleblower's lawsuit contends the plaintiff is not innocent of wrongdoing and unfair conduct. Arthur Schlemmer said in a court filing that Ted Marinakis's "claims are barred by the Doctrine of Unclean Hands." That is the same legal strategy invoked by artist Shepard Fairey -- creator of the Obama Hope poster -- in a copyright dispute with the Associated Press. Fairey's work is the subject of a showing now under way at Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center. The AP says Fairey used a photo owned by the wire service without permission to create Obama Hope; Fairey says the AP has distributed copies of his work without permission. Background on the copyright dispute is available here. A copy of Fairey's counterclaim against the AP's lawsuit is available here (pdf).

For those interested in learning more about the doctrine of unclean hands, there are a variety of sources online offering definitions and explanations. This one was fairly succinct: "Doctrine of Unclean Hands is a defense used by a defendant against a lawsuit when the complainant himself has done a wrong thing in the subject matter in which the plaintiff is seeking a court's assistance. For example, Mr. Smith advanced money to Mr.Kelly to beat his neighbor, and Kelly failed to do the work. Here Mr.Smith is having an Unclean Hand."

Schlemmer, who is defending the country club, has not yet offered any details of the conduct that he wants to pin on Marinakis, who was the club's food and beverage director. Marinakis claims the club hired illegal aliens and allowed gambling. Schlemmer's answer to the lawsuit denies all allegations.

Whistleblower Lawsuit Tees Off: Cincinnati's Hyde Park County Club Accused of Hiring Undocumented Aliens

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The toney Hyde Park County Club in Cincinnati could be on the verge of a scandal involving allegations it employed illegal aliens. There also may be problems with fake Social Security numbers. Former food and beverage director Ted Marinakis, who has been at the club for some 24 years, filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming he was sacked after reporting suspected violations of immigration rules. Marinakis is represented by noted Cincinnati civil rights lawyer Alphonse A Gerhardstein, an experienced litigator whose many victories included a huge settlement from the State of Ohio for prisoner abuses after the Lucasville riot in 1993. Marinakis' lawsuit is 10 pages long and was filed earlier this week in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. It has been assigned to Judge Dennis Helmick.

The country club has not yet filed its reply to the Marinakis' complaint, which is available on the Hamilton County Clerk of Court's website. About the undocumented workers, the complaint states: "In 2008, Mr. Marinakis learned that HPCC [was] hiring illegal immigrants and then giving them fake Social Security numbers. Mr. Marinakis reported the illegal activity both verbally and in writing to . . . HPCC did not stop its unlawful conduct. Mr. Marinakis reasonably believed that hiring illegal aliens and falsifying identification documents were criminal offenses that were felonies, likely to cause an imminent risk of physical harm to persons or a hazard to public health or safety, or against federal law."

Marinakis also claims the club allowed smoking in violation of the anti-smoking measure passed in 2006. He claims gambling was tolerated. He claims he had been harassed in the past and targeted with pornographic e-mails. Marinakis is seeking an injunction requiring the county club to reinstate him. The lawsuit says that in 2004, Marinakis reported sexual harassment against two female employees and was fired. It says he was reinstated after filing a discrimination charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission: "The OCRC found probable cause that HPCC discriminated and retaliated against Mr. Marinakis for engaging in protected activity. As part of a settlement of the charge, the HPCC reinstated Mr. Marinakis to the position of Food and Beverage Coordinator."