Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 17-3 (2017) · Public Health, Safety and Welfare—Discovery of Structural Defect Affecting Subdivision
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 Building Officials Advisory Duty
prevails over
Engineer A Client Defect Reporting Duty
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Higher Ethical Threshold for Engineer A
Engineer A Corrective Action Escalation Duty
prevails over
Engineer A Client Defect Reporting Duty
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Higher Ethical Threshold for Engineer A
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Client Defect Reporting Duty vs Engineer A Public Safety Duty
What the board concluded
- Contrary to the advice of the State Board of Professional Engineers, Engineer A did not fulfill his ethical obligations under the NSPE Code of Ethics by only providing the report to the insurance company that retained him. Engineer A had a responsibility to take additional steps beyond merely submitting a written report to the insurance company, including contacting local building officials,...
Recorded violations:
Omission of Further Notification violates Engineer A Corrective Action Escalation Duty
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Read at the type level, this resolution is: Reporting Obligation yields to Reporting Obligation. Comparison across cases happens at this level; the duty types recur while each case's obligations instantiate them.
| Case | Prevailing type | Yielding type | Relation to this case |
|---|---|---|---|
|
76-4
Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...
|
Reporting Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Reporting Obligation | Confidentiality Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Reporting Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
90-5
Failure To Report Information Affecting...
|
Reporting Obligation | Confidentiality Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
96-8
Peer Review - Confidentiality Agreements
|
Reporting Obligation | Confidentiality Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
08-10
Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment
|
Internal Escalation Obligation | Reporting Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
|
08-10
Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Reporting Obligation | The prevailing type here yields there |
Closest instance-level matches, ranked on the specific obligations and contexts of this case:
| Case | Obligation that prevailed | Yielding obligation | Context (defeasibleUnder) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
08-10
Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment
|
Engineer A Internal Recourse Duty | Engineer A Conditional Reporting Duty | Internal Mechanisms Available MedTech |
|
96-8
Peer Review - Confidentiality Agreements
|
Engineer A Authority Cooperation Duty | Engineer A Confidentiality Duty | Confidentiality Versus Cooperation Dilemma |