Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 07-12 (2007) · Expert Witness—Disclosure of Interests Represented
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
John Doe County Engineer Self-Review Planning Board Vote Violation
prevails over
John Doe County Engineer Faithful Agent Breach Self-Approval
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 67-1 Doe County Engineer Self-Approval Conflict
Engineer A Extreme Same-Domain Conflict Heightened Scrutiny Recognition Failure
prevails over
Engineer A State DOT Airport Consulting Interrelated Domain Conflict Violation
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 02-8 Engineer A Highway-Airport Adjacent Domain Conflict
Featured
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Evolution Compliance Engineer A Industry Compensation Concealment
prevails over
Artfully Misleading Statement Prohibition Engineer A Own Behalf Testimony Response
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Undisclosed Private Retainer in Regulatory Testimony
Engineer A Regulatory Hearing Financial Relationship Disclosure Violation
prevails over
Engineer A Technically True Misleading Capacity Claim Regulatory Testimony
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Undisclosed Private Retainer in Regulatory Testimony
Expert Witness Credential Presentation Non-Misleading Engineer A DOE Title Display
prevails over
Engineer A Government Employment Affiliation Non-Exploitation DOE Title Display Violation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Government Credential Conflation in Testimony
Expert Witness Engineering Non-Advocate Objectivity Engineer A Industry-Retained Regulatory Testimony
prevails over
Engineer A Technically True Misleading Capacity Claim Regulatory Testimony
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Undisclosed Private Retainer in Regulatory Testimony
Same-Domain Government-Private Dual Role Non-Engagement Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Consulting
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Breach DOE Private Consulting
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Present Case Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Same-Domain Conflict
Engineer A Regulatory Hearing Financial Relationship Disclosure Violation
prevails over
Technically True But Misleading Omission Prohibition Engineer A Own Behalf Response
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Undisclosed Private Retainer in Regulatory Testimony
Engineer A Dual-Role Testimony Capacity Clarification Failure
prevails over
Artfully Misleading Statement Prohibition Engineer A Own Behalf Testimony Response
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Undisclosed Private Retainer in Regulatory Testimony
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Evolution Compliance Engineer A Industry Compensation Concealment vs Engineer A Technically True Misleading Capacity Claim Regulatory Testimony
Engineer A DOE PowerPoint Government-Branded Material Private Testimony Non-Use Violation vs Engineer A Public Resources Non-Use DOE PowerPoint Private Testimony
Engineer A DOE PowerPoint Government-Branded Material Private Testimony Non-Use Violation vs Government Employment Affiliation Non-Exploitation Engineer A DOE Title PowerPoint
Engineer A Extreme Same-Domain Conflict Heightened Scrutiny Recognition Failure vs Same-Domain Government-Private Dual Role Non-Engagement Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Consulting
Engineer A Faithful Agent Breach DOE Private Consulting vs Engineer A Same-Domain DOE Coal Bed Methane Private Consulting Non-Engagement Violation
Engineer A Governmental Procedure Policy Compliance Dual Employment Failure vs Engineer A State DOT Airport Consulting Interrelated Domain Conflict Violation
Engineer A Regulatory Hearing Financial Relationship Disclosure Violation vs Expert Witness Engineering Non-Advocate Objectivity Engineer A Industry-Retained Regulatory Testimony
Expert Witness Credential Presentation Non-Misleading Engineer A DOE Title Display vs Expert Witness Licensure Status Affirmative Disclosure Engineer A State Y Non-Licensure
Industry Consulting Relationship Affirmative Disclosure Engineer A Coal Bed Methane Clients vs Technically True But Misleading Omission Prohibition Engineer A Own Behalf Response
What the board concluded
- It was unethical for Engineer A to provide expert testimony in the manner described.
- It was unethical for Engineer A to serve as a expert witness under the circumstances.
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 |