Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 19-10 (2019) · Public Health and Safety— Observed Structural Defects and Inspection by County Building Official
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 Incidental Structural Observation Disclosure Fire Investigation
prevails over
Engineer A Scope-of-Work Non-Shield Structural Disclosure Fire Investigation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Forensic Scope-Exceeding Structural Discovery
Engineer A BER 00-5 Non-Engineer Override Resistance Full-Bore Escalation
prevails over
Engineer A BER 00-5 Crutch Pile Adequacy Collaborative Verification
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Non-Engineer Public Works Director Bridge Reopening Decision - BER Case 00-5
Engineer A BER 07-10 Written Record and Follow-Up Confirmation Obligation
prevails over
Engineer A BER 07-10 Proportional Escalation Non-Imminent Barn Collapse
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Non-Imminent Structural Collapse Risk - BER Case 07-10
Engineer A BER 00-5 Imminent Widespread Bridge Collapse Full-Bore Campaign
prevails over
Engineer A BER 00-5 Public Pressure Non-Subordination Bridge Closure
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Pressure Override of Bridge Closure - BER Case 00-5
Engineer A New Owner Priority Notification Before Official Escalation
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Immediate Client Notification Structural Hazard
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Safety at Risk — Structural Instability
Engineer A Current Case Post-Unresponsive-County-Official Multi-Agency Escalation
prevails over
Engineer A Current Case Corrective Action Pursuit Scope Calibration
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- County Building Official Non-Response - Current Case
Engineer A Certificate of Occupancy Authority Re-Notification Structural Deficiency
prevails over
Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Bar Structural Disclosure County Official
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Safety at Risk — Structural Instability
Engineer A Post-Unresponsive-Official Escalation County Building Official
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Immediate Client Notification Structural Hazard
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Safety at Risk — Structural Instability
Engineer A Multi-Credential Structural Competence Activation Fire Investigation
prevails over
Engineer A Scope-of-Work Non-Shield Structural Disclosure Fire Investigation
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Forensic Scope-Exceeding Structural Discovery
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A BER 00-5 Five-Ton Limit Strict Enforcement Escalation vs Engineer A BER 00-5 Imminent Widespread Bridge Collapse Full-Bore Campaign
Engineer A BER 00-5 Non-Engineer Override Resistance Full-Bore Escalation vs Engineer A BER 00-5 Public Pressure Non-Subordination Bridge Closure
Engineer A BER 07-10 Deadline-Conditioned County-State Building Official Escalation vs Engineer A BER 07-10 Proportional Escalation Non-Imminent Barn Collapse
Engineer A Certificate of Occupancy Authority Re-Notification Structural Deficiency vs Engineer A Faithful Agent Immediate Client Notification Structural Hazard
Engineer A Current Case Certificate of Occupancy Authority Re-Notification vs Engineer A New Owner Priority Notification Before Official Escalation
Engineer A Current Case Non-Imminent Structural Risk Client Collaboration vs Engineer A Post-Unresponsive-Official Escalation County Building Official
Engineer A Current Case Post-Unresponsive-County-Official Multi-Agency Escalation vs Engineer A Non-Imminent Collapse Proportionate Response Calibration
What the board concluded
- Engineer A had an obligation to continue to pursue a resolution of the matter by working with Client B and in contacting in writing the supervisor of the county official, the fire marshal, or any other agency with jurisdiction, advising them of the structural deficiencies.
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 |