Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 10-8 (2010) · Selection of Firm—FOIA Request
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 B Present Case Public Procurement Regulatory Deference
prevails over
Engineer B Present Case FOIA Pre-Submission Competitor Intelligence Abstention
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineering Procurement Free Competition Legal Framework
Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Misrepresentation Check Transparency Recognition
prevails over
Engineer A Public Procurement Qualifications Confidentiality Self-Protection Obligation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Qualifications Submitted to Public RFQ
Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Misrepresentation Check Transparency Recognition
prevails over
Engineer A Present Case Public Procurement Qualifications Confidentiality Self-Protection
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Confidential Information in Public Procurement Submission Risk
Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Regulatory Deference
prevails over
Engineer B FOIA Pre-Submission Timing Violation Obligation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer B Competitor Qualification FOIA Acquisition
- Engineering Procurement Free Competition Legal Framework
Engineer B BER 93-3 Client Confidentiality Instruction Faithful Agent Compliance
prevails over
Engineer B BER 93-3 Faithful Agent Client Interest Primacy Over Altruistic Disclosure
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 93-3 Faithful Agent Duty Activation
- BER 93-3 Franchiser-Engineer B Covert Transition Engagement
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer B Competitive Procurement Fairness Obligation vs Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Regulatory Deference
Engineer B FOIA Content Non-Exploitation Obligation vs Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Misrepresentation Check Transparency Recognition
Engineer B Good Intent Non-Justification Procurement Obligation vs Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Regulatory Deference
Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement FOIA Timing Appearance of Impropriety Avoidance vs Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Regulatory Deference
What the board concluded
- It was ethical for Engineer B to make the FOIA request in connection with the state’s procurement of engineering services, pursuant to the State’s RFQ procedures.
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 |