Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 93-8 (1993) · Use Of Broad Indemnification Clause For Pollution Services
Professional obligations conflict, and the board applies no fixed rule for which one wins.
Each resolution is recorded as three edges:
competesWith (the tension),
prevailsOver (the obligation the board allowed to win in this case), and
defeasibleUnder (the situation under which the yielding obligation gives way).
The same tension is then traced across comparable cases, where its resolution shifts with context.
Hover any obligation or state to see its definition; click to open it in OntServe.
How this case resolved it
Featured
Engineer A Insurance Procurement Obligation — Pollution Services Post-Market-Normalization
prevails over
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Changed Circumstances - Insurance Now Available Despite Indemnification Clause Persisting
- Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition Instance
- Pollution Insurance Market Re-Entry - Current Conditions
- Post-Liability-Crisis Insurance Market Recovery Obligation State
Engineer A Learned Profession Personal Liability Acceptance — Pollution Services
prevails over
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Changed Circumstances - Insurance Now Available Despite Indemnification Clause Persisting
- Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition Instance
- Pollution Insurance Market Re-Entry - Current Conditions
- Post-Liability-Crisis Insurance Market Recovery Obligation State
Engineer A Changed Circumstances Indemnification Clause Removal
prevails over
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Changed Circumstances - Insurance Now Available Despite Indemnification Clause Persisting
- Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition Instance
- Pollution Insurance Market Re-Entry - Current Conditions
- Post-Liability-Crisis Insurance Market Recovery Obligation State
Engineer A Pollution Services Insurance Procurement
prevails over
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Changed Circumstances - Insurance Now Available Despite Indemnification Clause Persisting
- Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition Instance
- Pollution Insurance Market Re-Entry - Current Conditions
- Post-Liability-Crisis Insurance Market Recovery Obligation State
Engineer A Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition — Post-Insurance-Market-Normalization
prevails over
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Changed Circumstances - Insurance Now Available Despite Indemnification Clause Persisting
- Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition Instance
- Pollution Insurance Market Re-Entry - Current Conditions
- Post-Liability-Crisis Insurance Market Recovery Obligation State
Engineer A Client Interest Non-Subordination Faithful Agent Indemnification
prevails over
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Changed Circumstances - Insurance Now Available Despite Indemnification Clause Persisting
- Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition Instance
- Pollution Insurance Market Re-Entry - Current Conditions
- Post-Liability-Crisis Insurance Market Recovery Obligation State
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Changed Circumstances Indemnification Clause Removal vs Engineer A Learned Profession Personal Liability Acceptance — Pollution Services
Engineer A Client Interest Non-Subordination Faithful Agent Indemnification vs Engineer A Ordinary Negligence Indemnification Prohibition — Post-Insurance-Market-Normalization
Engineer A Cyclical Market Re-Assessment — Post-Liability-Crisis Indemnification Clause Review vs Engineer A Insurance Procurement Obligation — Pollution Services Post-Market-Normalization
What the board concluded
- It would not be ethical for Engineer A to continue to require a broad indemnification provision in all of his agreements where he provides pollution-related services.
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification yields to Engineer A Insurance Procurement Obligation — Pollution Services Post-Market-Normalization. The yielding obligation ("Engineer A Section III.9 Exception Condition Verification — Pollution Services Indemnification") recurs across cases; the obligation that overrides it and the context under which it yields differ case by case. This is the case-law move: not a single rule, but a family of context-indexed resolutions.
| Case | Obligation that prevailed | Yielding obligation | Context (defeasibleUnder) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
16-3
Professional Selection—Receipt of...
|
Engineer A QBS Deadline Strict Enforcement Firm B Rejection | Engineer A Harmless Error Non-Exception Firm B Submittal | Late SOQ Submission Outside Formal Process |
|
79-2
Public Criticism - Environmental Concerns
|
Engineers A and B Environmental Stewardship Landfill Methane Groundwater Assessment | Engineers A and B Landfill Higher-Contour Design State Environmental Law Compliance Verification | Methane Migration and Groundwater Contamination Risk - Town Landfill Higher Contour Design |
|
22-3
Review of Other Engineer’s Work
|
Engineer C Competitor Critique Declination Obligation Instance | Engineer C Truthfulness Insufficiency Recognition Obligation Instance | Engineer C Incomplete Circumstantial Knowledge of Engineer B's Work |
|
23-4
Acknowledging Errors in Design
|
Deposition Factual Completeness Obligation Engineer T Legal Proceedings | Error Acknowledgment Obligation Engineer T Post-Accident Assessment | Engineer T Contested Error Characterization; Engineer T Deposition Transparency Obligation; Engineer T Ethical Dilemma Error Acknowledgment vs Legal Counsel Direction; Engineer T Missed Opportunity Without Ethical Violation; Engineer T Superior Authority Dismissal of Error Concern |
|
23-2
Excess Stormwater Runoff
|
Firm BWJ Regulatory Stormwater Compliance Remediation City C Subdivision | Principal Engineer R Regulatory Compliance Verification Stormwater Design | Subdivision Stormwater Regulatory Non-Compliance |