Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 15-12 (2015) · Engineer’s Obligation to Consider Feasible Options
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 Waterfront Hearing Relevance Pertinence Judgment
prevails over
Complete Comparative Design Alternatives Presentation Engineer A Route
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
No State context committed for this edge.
Historic Property Harm Minimization Engineer A Route Recommendation
prevails over
Faithful Agent Route Specification Engineer A JKL State Contract
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Route Design Approaches
- Farmhouse Owner Refusal — Third-Party Property Rights
- Historic Farmhouse Multi-Party Interest Balancing
- Historic Farmhouse Third-Party Impact
Multi-Interest Balancing Engineer A Route Selection Analysis
prevails over
Faithful Agent Route Specification Engineer A JKL State Contract
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Route Design Approaches
- Farmhouse Owner Refusal — Third-Party Property Rights
- Historic Farmhouse Multi-Party Interest Balancing
- Historic Farmhouse Third-Party Impact
Creative Third Path Solution Exploration Engineer A Route
prevails over
Eminent Domain Availability Disclosure Engineer A State Route
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Farmhouse Owner Refusal — Third-Party Property Rights
- Historic Farmhouse Third-Party Impact
Engineers A and B Landfill Professional Judgment Environmental Trade-Off
prevails over
Engineers A and B Landfill Public Controversy Honest Objectivity
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Landfill Design Regulatory Compliance with Residual Environmental Risk
- Landfill Higher Contour Design Public Controversy
Engineer A Route Selection Historic Property Displacement Harm Minimization
prevails over
Engineer A Route Selection Greatest Good Multi-Interest Balancing
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Farmhouse Owner Refusal — Third-Party Property Rights
- Historic Farmhouse Multi-Party Interest Balancing
- Historic Farmhouse Third-Party Impact
Complete Comparative Design Alternatives Presentation Engineer A Route
prevails over
Faithful Agent Route Specification Engineer A JKL State Contract
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Route Design Approaches
- Farmhouse Owner Refusal — Third-Party Property Rights
- Historic Farmhouse Multi-Party Interest Balancing
- Historic Farmhouse Third-Party Impact
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Creative Third Path Solution Exploration Engineer A Route vs Engineer A Route Selection Greatest Good Multi-Interest Balancing
Eminent Domain Availability Disclosure Engineer A State Route vs Historic Property Harm Minimization Engineer A Route Recommendation
Eminent Domain Consequence Full Disclosure Engineer A State Route vs Faithful Agent Route Specification Engineer A JKL State Contract
Faithful Agent Route Specification Engineer A JKL State Contract vs Farmhouse Owner Proactive Visit Disclosure Engineer A State Client
What the board concluded
- Engineer A has an obligation to advise the state on all feasible and reasonable solutions in an attempt to reach an amicable resolution of this matter, consistent with the interests of the public, including physically moving the historic farmhouse to another appropriate site owned by the family or another party.
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 Safety Obligation Wetland Fill | Engineer A Faithful Agent Limits Wetland | Engineer A Confirmed Environmental Risk; Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty Conflict |
| Engineer A Wetland Confidentiality Limits | Engineer A Faithful Agent Limits Wetland | Engineer A Confirmed Environmental Risk; Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty Conflict |