Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 24-1 (2025) · Balancing Client Directives and Public Welfare: Stormwater Management Dilemma
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 L Watershed Safety Duty
prevails over
Engineer L Faithful Agent Duty
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Safety Faithful Agent Conflict
What the board concluded
- It was not unethical for Engineer L to cease work when requested by Client X, without voicing concern about unquantified increased risk. Later, Engineer L did comply with Code provisions that require engineers to notify their employers or clients if a project will not be successful.
- It would not be ethical for Engineer L to continue working on Client X’s project when Client X refuses to invest in the protective measures identified by Engineer L. Continuing to work on the project after concerns about runoff were quantified would in effect mean Engineer L was placing the clients’ financial interest above the engineer’s paramount obligation to the public health, safety, and...
How comparable cases resolved this and related tensions
Read at the type level, this resolution is: Faithful Agent Obligation yields to Safety 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same tension: both duty types match (4) | |||
|
76-4
Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | Same tension, resolved the same way |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | Same tension, resolved the same way |
|
92-6
Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste
|
Safety Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | Same tension, resolved the same way |
|
97-13
Duty To Report Unrelated Information...
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Safety Obligation | Same tension, resolved the opposite way |
| Related tension: one duty type matches (14) | |||
|
24-5
Sustainable Development and Resilient...
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Professional Accountability Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
93-3
Appropriate Notification And Review Of...
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Peer Review Cooperation Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
08-10
Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Reporting Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
85-4
Objectivity of Engineer Retained as Expert
|
Faithful Agent Obligation | Objectivity Obligation | The yielding type here prevails there |
|
22-2
Sharing As-Built Drawings
|
Disclosure Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here also yields there, to a different duty |
|
76-4
Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...
|
Reporting Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here also yields there, to a different duty |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Reporting Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here also yields there, to a different duty |
|
88-6
Whistleblowing - City Engineer
|
Safety Withdrawaland Notification Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here also yields there, to a different duty |
|
82-2
Confidentiality of Engineering Report
|
Confidentiality Obligation | Faithful Agent Obligation | The yielding type here also yields there, to a different duty |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Safety Obligation | Confidentiality Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
18-9
Public Health and Safety—Building Codes to...
|
Safety Obligation | Proactive Risk Disclosure Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
18-9
Public Health and Safety—Building Codes to...
|
Safety Obligation | Safety Withdrawaland Notification Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
90-5
Failure To Report Information Affecting...
|
Safety Obligation | Confidentiality Obligation | The prevailing type here also prevails there, over a different duty |
|
96-8
Peer Review - Confidentiality Agreements
|
Safety Obligation | Confidentiality 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
88-6
Whistleblowing - City Engineer
|
Engineer A Proper Authority Reporting Duty | Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty | Loyalty Versus Public Protection Conflict |
|
89-7
Duty To Report Safety Violations
|
Engineer A Safety Precedence Duty | Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty | Code Exception Disclosure Release |
|
92-6
Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste
|
Engineer B Paramount Public Welfare Duty | Engineer B Faithful Agent Duty | Client Business Relationship Conflict |
|
18-9
Public Health and Safety—Building Codes to...
|
Engineer A Public Safety Duty | Engineer A Client Persuasion Duty | Client Duty Versus Public Safety Conflict; Owner Cost Based Refusal |
|
76-4
Public Welfare - Knowledge of Information...
|
Engineer Doe Authority Reporting Duty | Engineer Doe Faithful Agent Duty | No Written Report Directive |