Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 85-4 (1985) · Objectivity of Engineer Retained as Expert
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 competition structure in OntServe
Featured
Engineer A Former Client Loyalty Duty
prevails over
Engineer A Objectivity Duty
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Successive Adverse Retention Conflict
What the board concluded
- It was unethical for Engineer A to agree to provide a separate engineering and safety analysis report.
Recorded violations:
Failure to Consult Former Client violates Engineer A Former Client Loyalty Duty
Adverse Party Engagement Acceptance violates Engineer A Former Client Confidentiality Duty
How comparable cases resolved this and related tensions
Read at the type level, this resolution is: Objectivity Obligation yields to Faithful Agent Obligation. Comparison across cases happens at this level; the duty types recur while each case's obligations instantiate them. Cases below are grouped by how much of that pairing they share. A duty type that yields here may prevail elsewhere, which is the context-dependence itself, not an inconsistency.
Same tension: both duty types match, so the board ruled on this exact pairing. Related tension: only one duty type matches; the other duty differs, so these show how a type behaves elsewhere rather than a ruling on this pairing.
| Case | Prevailing type | Yielding type | Relation to this case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Related tension: one duty type matches (14) | |||
|
23-4
Acknowledging Errors in Design
|
Objectivity Obligation | Professional Accountability Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
24-1
Balancing Client Directives and Public...
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
22-2
Sharing As-Built Drawings
|
Disclosure Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
76-4
Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
76-4
Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...
|
Reporting Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Reporting Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
88-6
Whistleblowing - City Engineer
|
Safety Withdrawaland Notification Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
82-2
Confidentiality of Engineering Report
|
Confidentiality Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
92-6
Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
24-5
Sustainable Development and Resilient...
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Professional Accountability Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
97-13
Duty To Report Unrelated Information...
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Safety Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
93-3
Appropriate Notification And Review Of...
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Peer Review Cooperation Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
08-10
Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Reporting Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
Closest instance-level matches, ranked on the specific obligations and contexts of this case:
| Case | Obligation that prevailed | Yielding obligation | Context (defeasibleUnder) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
82-2
Confidentiality of Engineering Report
|
Engineer A Client Confidentiality Duty | Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty | Engineer A Good Faith Assumption; Report Copy Sent to Realty Firm |