Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 17-7 (2017) · Public Health Safety and Welfare—Engineering Standards
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
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Engineer A Post Council Override State Federal Escalation Traffic Safety
prevails over
Engineer A Public Authority Awareness Non-Excuse Further Escalation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Authority Awareness Without Adequate Regulatory Action
- Public Authority Awareness Without Adequate Regulatory Action - Engineer A Case
Engineer A Public Welfare Paramount Traffic Ordinance Safety
prevails over
Engineer A Resistance to Citizen Group Advocacy Pressure
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Governing Body Override of Engineering Safety Standard - Public Pressure Context
Engineer A Public Welfare Safety Escalation After Council Override
prevails over
Engineer A Post-Council-Vote Escalation to State Authorities
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Formal Escalation Obligation Following Governing Body Override
Engineer A State Law Engineering Study Advocacy
prevails over
Engineer A Duty of Care Traffic Infrastructure Safety
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- State Law Engineering Study Prerequisite Unmet
Engineer A Post Council Override State Federal Escalation Traffic Safety
prevails over
Engineer A Fact Command Before Traffic Safety Reporting
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Safety at Risk from Unsafe Traffic Infrastructure
Engineer A Public Welfare Paramount Traffic Ordinance Safety
prevails over
Engineer A Ethical Conduct Maintenance Against Political Pressure
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Ordinance Change Contrary to Engineering Standards
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Ethical Conduct Maintenance Against Political Pressure vs Engineer A Resistance to Citizen Group Advocacy Pressure
Engineer A Post Council Override State Federal Escalation Traffic Safety vs Engineer A Public Welfare Paramount Traffic Ordinance Safety
What the board concluded
- Engineer A has an obligation to further report the situation to the appropriate the local, state, and/or federal authorities to ensure that relevant engineering standards are consistent with the public health, safety, and welfare.