Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 79-2 (1979) · Public Criticism - Environmental Concerns
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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Engineers A and B Landfill Methane Groundwater Risk Proactive Written Disclosure Municipal Client
prevails over
Engineers A and B Faithful Agent Town Council Iterative Redesign Within Ethical Limits
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Public Goods Tension - Waste Disposal Necessity vs Environmental Protection
- Expanded Landfill Regulatory Compliance with Residual Environmental Risk
- Intensified Site Use Environmental Risk Acceptance - Higher Contour Landfill Design
- Landfill Capacity Exhaustion Imminent - Town Landfill
- Methane Migration and Groundwater Contamination Risk - Town Landfill Higher Contour Design
Engineer C Public Interest Peer Critique Professional Deportment Landfill Challenge
prevails over
Engineer C Civic Duty Elevation Professional Duty Landfill Environmental Challenge
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
No State context committed for this edge.
Engineers A and B Competing Loyalty Public Safety Primacy Resolution Landfill Design
prevails over
Engineers A and B Faithful Agent Town Council Iterative Redesign Within Ethical Limits
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Public Goods Tension - Waste Disposal Necessity vs Environmental Protection
- Expanded Landfill Regulatory Compliance with Residual Environmental Risk
- Intensified Site Use Environmental Risk Acceptance - Higher Contour Landfill Design
- Landfill Capacity Exhaustion Imminent - Town Landfill
- Methane Migration and Groundwater Contamination Risk - Town Landfill Higher Contour Design
Engineers A and B Environmental Stewardship Landfill Methane Groundwater Assessment
prevails over
Engineers A and B Landfill Higher-Contour Design State Environmental Law Compliance Verification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Methane Migration and Groundwater Contamination Risk - Town Landfill Higher Contour Design
Engineers A and B Long-Term Environmental Welfare Non-Subordination to Town Council Short-Term Disposal Necessity
prevails over
Engineers A and B Faithful Agent Town Council Iterative Redesign Within Ethical Limits
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Public Goods Tension - Waste Disposal Necessity vs Environmental Protection
- Expanded Landfill Regulatory Compliance with Residual Environmental Risk
- Intensified Site Use Environmental Risk Acceptance - Higher Contour Landfill Design
- Landfill Capacity Exhaustion Imminent - Town Landfill
- Methane Migration and Groundwater Contamination Risk - Town Landfill Higher Contour Design
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer C Honest Disagreement Non-Ethical-Indictment of Engineers A and B Landfill Design vs Engineer C Public Interest Environmental Testimony Landfill Methane Groundwater Escalation
Engineers A and B Competing Loyalty Public Safety Primacy Resolution Landfill Design vs Engineers A and B Environmental Design Sincere Professional Judgment Ethical Sufficiency Landfill
Engineers A and B Competing Public Goods Waste Disposal Environmental Safety Balanced Advisory Landfill vs Engineers A and B Faithful Agent Town Council Iterative Redesign Within Ethical Limits
Engineers A and B Environmental Stewardship Landfill Methane Groundwater Assessment vs Engineers A and B Faithful Agent Town Council Iterative Redesign Within Ethical Limits
Engineers A and B Faithful Agent Town Council Iterative Redesign Within Ethical Limits vs Engineers A and B Public Welfare Paramount Client Direction Declination Conditional Obligation
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
A faithful-agent duty yields to a public-protection obligation. The yielding obligation ("Faithful Agent") 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
24-01
Balancing Client Directives and Public...
|
Engineer L Client Budget Pressure Refusal | Engineer L Faithful Agent Boundary | Engineer L Confirmed Risk Without Safeguards; Engineer L Resource Constrained Client |
| Engineer L Client Override Regulatory Report | Engineer L Faithful Agent Boundary | Engineer L Confirmed Risk Without Safeguards; Engineer L Resource Constrained Client | |
|
20-4
Public Health, Safety, and...
|
Engineer B Post-Override Regulatory Reporting | Engineer B Faithful Agent Boundary | MWC Override of Engineers A and B |
| Engineer A Post-Override Regulatory Reporting | Engineer A Faithful Agent Boundary | MWC Override of Engineers A and B | |
|
95-5
Failure To Include Information In...
|
Engineer B Expert Witness Neutrality | Engineer B Faithful Agent Boundary | Engineer B Adversarial Engagement; Engineer B Client Defense Bias |
| Engineer B Complete Technical Reporting | Engineer B Faithful Agent Boundary | Engineer B Adversarial Engagement; Engineer B Client Defense Bias | |
|
04-8
Public Welfare—Client Action Following...
|
Engineer A Wetland Confidentiality Limits | Engineer A Faithful Agent Limits Wetland | Engineer A Confirmed Environmental Risk; Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty Conflict |
| Engineer A Safety Obligation Wetland Fill | Engineer A Faithful Agent Limits Wetland | Engineer A Confirmed Environmental Risk; Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty Conflict |