Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 24-05 (2025) · Sustainable Development and Resilient Infrastructure
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 K Complete Comparative Presentation Traditional vs Sustainable Flood Control
prevails over
Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Refusal to Mitigate Underserved Community Risk
- Competing Professional Duties on Public Disclosure
- Confirmed Floodwater Diversion Risk Without Mitigation
Post-Client-Override Public Safety Escalation - Engineer K - Underserved Community Residual Risk
prevails over
Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Refusal to Mitigate Underserved Community Risk
- Competing Professional Duties on Public Disclosure
- Confirmed Floodwater Diversion Risk Without Mitigation
Safety Obligation - Engineer K - Public Flood Protection
prevails over
Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Refusal to Mitigate Underserved Community Risk
- Competing Professional Duties on Public Disclosure
- Confirmed Floodwater Diversion Risk Without Mitigation
Engineer K Faithful Agent Trustee Flood Control Design Phase
prevails over
Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Refusal to Mitigate Underserved Community Risk
- Competing Professional Duties on Public Disclosure
- Confirmed Floodwater Diversion Risk Without Mitigation
Safety Obligation - Engineer K - Public Flood Protection
prevails over
Faithful Agent Obligation - Engineer K - City Client
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Refusal to Mitigate Underserved Community Risk
- Confirmed Floodwater Diversion Risk Without Mitigation
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Climate Resilience Design Alignment - Engineer K - City Resilience Policy vs Faithful Agent Obligation - Engineer K - City Client
Disclosure Obligation - City Municipal Infrastructure Client - Environmental Justice Risk vs Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision
Engineer K Complete Comparative Presentation Traditional vs Sustainable Flood Control vs Faithful Agent Obligation - Engineer K - City Client
Engineer K Creative Hybrid Solution Exploration Underserved Community Flood Risk vs Faithful Agent Obligation - Engineer K - City Client
Engineer K Non-Discrimination Design Impact Underserved Community Flood Risk vs Safety Obligation - Engineer K - Public Flood Protection
Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision vs Engineer K Sustainable Development Integration Flood Control Design Analysis
Engineer K Post-Decision Faithful Agent Deference City Council Flood Control Decision vs Public Welfare Safety Escalation - Engineer K - Underserved Community Flood Risk
Engineer K Sustainable Development Integration Flood Control Design Analysis vs Faithful Agent Obligation - Engineer K - City Client
Environmental Justice Risk Disclosure - Engineer K - Underserved Community Flood Diversion vs Faithful Agent Obligation - Engineer K - City Client
What the board concluded
- Because Engineer K has entered into a contract to design the new flood water control system, Engineer K has an ethical obligation to act as a faithful agent or trustee.
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 |