Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 05-5 (2005) · Statements Made During Negotiations
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Engineer A Withdrawn Competitor Status Accurate Disclosure Negotiation
prevails over
Engineer A Business Negotiation Competitive Misrepresentation Prohibition
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Stalled Negotiation Pressure - Present Case
Engineer A Firm Sale Artfully Misleading Statement Prohibition Violation
prevails over
Engineer A Firm Sale Full Circumstance Disclosure Conditional Defense Failure
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Misleading Negotiation Statements - Present Case
Engineer A BER 86-6 Team Credit Sole Authorship Misrepresentation Violation
prevails over
Engineer Doe BER 72-11 Resume Emphasis Permissibility Boundary Compliance
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Doe Resume Emphasis Reframing - BER 72-11
Engineer A Firm Sale Negotiation Material Harm Heightened Honesty Violation
prevails over
Engineer A Business Negotiation Competitive Misrepresentation Prohibition
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Stalled Negotiation Pressure - Present Case
Engineer A Artfully Misleading Competitive Pressure Statement Prohibition
prevails over
Engineer A Firm Sale Business Negotiation Honesty Non-Exemption Violation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer B Stalling Creating Negotiation Pressure
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A BER 86-6 Qualifications Non-Misrepresentation Violation vs Engineer Doe BER 72-11 Resume Emphasis Permissibility Boundary Compliance
What the board concluded
- It was unethical for Engineer A to make the statement to Engineer B in an effort to move the negotiations forward.