Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 24-5 (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 competition structure in OntServe
Featured
Engineer K Decision Deference Duty
prevails over
Engineer K Sustainability Promotion Duty
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Officials Public Accountability
Engineer K Faithful Agent Duty
prevails over
Engineer K Sustainability Promotion Duty
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- City Officials Public Accountability
What the board concluded
- Engineer K should present both approaches to the City if Engineer K believes both are viable solutions.
- 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. Engineer K is ethically obligated to fulfill their contractual obligations to the City and continue to design the Traditional Approach as approved by the City.
How comparable cases resolved this and related tensions
Read at the type level, this resolution is: Professional Accountability 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 (15) | |||
|
93-8
Use Of Broad Indemnification Clause For...
|
Professional Accountability Obligation | Legal 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 |
|
23-4
Acknowledging Errors in Design
|
Objectivity Obligation | Professional Accountability Obligation | The yielding type here also yields there, to 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 |
|
85-4
Objectivity of Engineer Retained as Expert
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Objectivity Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
No other committed case closely matches this exact pair of obligations yet.