Obligation-Conflict Resolution

Case 97-13 (1997) · Duty To Report Unrelated Information Observed During Rendering Of Services

Case Precedents

How this case resolved it competition structure in OntServe

Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty prevails over Engineer A Public Safety Duty

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

this resolution as a triple in OntServe

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Client Report Omission Directive

What the board concluded

From the Board's conclusions in Case 97-13:

It was ethical for Engineer A to retain the information in his engineering notes but not include it in the final written report as requested.
It was ethical for Engineer A not to report this information to any other public agency or authority as long as corrective action is taken by the public agency within a relatively short period of time.

How comparable cases resolved this and related tensions

Read at the type level, this resolution is: Safety Obligation yields to Faithful Agent Obligation. Comparison across cases happens at this level; the duty types recur while each case's obligations instantiate them. Cases below are grouped by how much of that pairing they share. A duty type that yields here may prevail elsewhere, which is the context-dependence itself, not an inconsistency.

Same tension: both duty types match, so the board ruled on this exact pairing. Related tension: only one duty type matches; the other duty differs, so these show how a type behaves elsewhere rather than a ruling on this pairing.

Case	Prevailing type	Yielding type	Relation to this case
Same tension: both duty types match (8)
24-5 Sustainable Development and Resilient...	Faithful Agent Obligation	Professional Accountability Obligation	Same tension, resolved the same way
93-3 Appropriate Notification And Review Of...	Faithful Agent Obligation	Peer Review Cooperation Obligation	Same tension, resolved the same way
85-4 Objectivity of Engineer Retained as Expert	Faithful Agent Obligation	Objectivity Obligation	Same tension, resolved the same way
24-1 Balancing Client Directives and Public...	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
76-4 Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
89-7 Duty To Report Safety Violations	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
88-6 Whistleblowing - City Engineer	Safety Withdrawal and Notification Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
92-6 Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste	Safety Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	Same tension, resolved the opposite way
Related tension: one duty type matches (16)
23-4 Acknowledging Errors in Design	Objectivity Obligation	Professional Accountability Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
17-3 Public Health, Safety and...	Proactive Risk Disclosure Obligation	Reporting Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
98-5 Public Health And Safety - Code Enforcement	Public Safety Obligation	Competence Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
89-7 Duty To Report Safety Violations	Safety Obligation	Confidentiality Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
18-9 Public Health and Safety—Building Codes to...	Safety Obligation	Proactive Risk Disclosure Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
18-9 Public Health and Safety—Building Codes to...	Safety Obligation	Safety Withdrawal and Notification Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
21-2 Public Health, Safety, and ...	Future Conditions Consideration Obligation	Legal Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
21-2 Public Health, Safety, and ...	Public Safety Obligation	Legal Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
93-8 Use Of Broad Indemnification Clause For...	Professional Accountability Obligation	Legal Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
90-5 Failure To Report Information Affecting...	Safety Obligation	Confidentiality Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
96-8 Peer Review - Confidentiality Agreements	Safety Obligation	Confidentiality Obligation	The yielding type here prevails there
22-2 Sharing As-Built Drawings	Disclosure Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
76-4 Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...	Reporting Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
89-7 Duty To Report Safety Violations	Reporting Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
82-2 Confidentiality of Engineering Report	Confidentiality Obligation	Faithful Agent Obligation	The prevailing type here yields there
08-10 Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment	Faithful Agent Obligation	Reporting Obligation	The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty

Closest instance-level matches, ranked on the specific obligations and contexts of this case:

Case	Obligation that prevailed	Yielding obligation	Context (defeasibleUnder)
76-4 Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...	Engineer Doe Paramount Public Duty	Engineer Doe Faithful Agent Duty	No Written Report Directive
93-3 Appropriate Notification And Review Of...	Engineer B Faithful Agent Duty	Engineer B Peer Notification Duty	Franchiser Nondisclosure Directive
24-5 Sustainable Development and Resilient...	Engineer K Faithful Agent Duty	Engineer K Sustainability Promotion Duty	City Officials Public Accountability
08-10 Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment	Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty	Engineer A Conditional Reporting Duty	Internal Mechanisms Available MedTech