Hairston v. . Keswick Corp.

200 S.E. 384, 214 N.C. 678, 1939 N.C. LEXIS 407

• Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Decided: January 4, 1939
• Status: Published

Opinion

Seawell, J.

One of tbe best known and most often reiterated maxims of equity is: “He who seeks equity must do equity.” It is a mandatory application of tbe “Golden Eule” in tbe field of law administration, and has been said to express tbe fundamental principle of equity jurisprudence. In tbe application of tbe underlying principle to this case it means that tbe plaintiff, who has pleaded usury in bis debt to tbe defendants and has asked tbe court to enjoin tbe foreclosure of tbe mortgage securing tbe indebtedness until that debt may be stripped of its usury, must first tender to tbe defendants tbe amount legally due them before be can obtain tbe equitable relief demanded. Buchanan v. Mortgage Co., 213 N. C., 247, 195 S. E., 787; Wilson v. Trust Co., 200 N. C., 788, 158 S. E., 479; Mortgage Corp. v. Wilson, 205 N. C., 493, 171 S. E., 783.

In this case plaintiff merely avers tbat be is ready, willing, and able to pay the defendants the amount legally due, but makes no tender.

The case is so thoroughly covered by the opinion in Buchanan v. Mortgage Co., supra, and cases there cited, that we deem further analysis and citation supererogatory.

The judgment is

Reversed.