Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 97-2 (1997) · Former Employer Establishing A New Firm - Soliciting Former Clients After A Period Of Time Has Elapsed
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
Engineer A Post-Employment Solicitation Permissibility After Voluntary Period
prevails over
Engineer A Post-Employment Confidential Information Non-Use ABC Water Treatment Report
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Absence of Specialized Knowledge Bar for Engineer A
BER Tripartite Interest Balancing Application Engineer A ABC Clover City
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty to ABC During Active Clover City Project
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Clover City Engineer Independence Encouragement State
- Conflict of Interest - Engineer A Dual Loyalty
Engineer A Free Enterprise Departure Right Non-Proscription Recognition
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Conduct During ABC Employment
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- At-Will Professional Mobility State - Engineer A
- Clover City Relationship Tied Exclusively to Engineer A Not ABC Firm
- Engineer A Non-Principal Employee Status Mitigating Departure Severity
Engineer A Specialized Knowledge Absence Competition Permissibility Assessment
prevails over
Four Engineers Case 77-11 Specialized Knowledge Violation
No State context committed for this edge.
Featured
Engineer A Non-Disclosure of Clover City Solicitation to ABC Prudential Assessment
prevails over
Engineer A Client-Suggested Departure Faithful Agent Non-Concealment from ABC
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City-Initiated Independence Encouragement from Clover City to Engineer A
- Engineer A Pre-Departure Non-Disclosure of Clover City Interest to ABC
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Client-Suggested Departure Faithful Agent Non-Concealment from ABC vs Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty to ABC During Active Clover City Project
Engineer A Clover City Solicitation Non-Disclosure to ABC During Employment vs Engineer A Faithful Agent Conduct During ABC Employment
Engineer A Elevated Storage Tank Out-of-Scope Work Non-Self-Serving Motivation Assessment vs Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty to ABC During Active Clover City Project
Engineer A Elevated Storage Tank Work Attribution in Independent Solicitation vs Engineer A Out-of-Scope Elevated Storage Tank Work Non-Entitlement Recognition
Engineer A Post-Employment Confidential Information Non-Use ABC Water Treatment Report vs Engineer A Specialized Knowledge Absence Competition Permissibility Assessment
Engineer A Post-Employment Solicitation Permissibility After Voluntary Period vs Engineer A Voluntary Non-Solicitation Period One Year Compliance
What the board concluded
- It was ethical for Engineer A to establish his own firm in Clover City.
- It was ethical for Engineer A to begin soliciting work from ABC’s clients, including Clover City after a year had passed.
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 |