Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 05-4 (2005) · Failure to Disclose Full Impact of Development
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
Engineers A B BER 79-2 Landfill Design Professional Judgment Trade-Off
prevails over
Engineer C BER 79-2 Landfill Design Public Challenge Post-Decision Acceptance
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 79-2 Landfill Design Public Controversy
Engineer A Non-Volunteering Adverse Impacts Public Hearing Developer F
prevails over
Engineer A Competing Public Goods Balanced Disclosure Assessment BER Present Case
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Traffic Noise Air Pollution Disclosure Relevance Determination
- Multi-Engineer Testimony on Omitted Adverse Impacts at Public Hearing
Engineer A Faithful Agent Developer F Public Hearing Presentation
prevails over
Engineer A Competing Public Goods Balanced Disclosure Assessment BER Present Case
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Traffic Noise Air Pollution Disclosure Relevance Determination
- Multi-Engineer Testimony on Omitted Adverse Impacts at Public Hearing
Engineer A Non-Deceptive Presentation Adverse Impact Non-Concealment City X
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Selective Emphasis Permissibility City X Waterfront
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Awareness of Undisclosed Development Impacts
- Environmental Benefit vs. Traffic and Pollution Tradeoff in Waterfront Development
Featured
Engineer A Present Case Relevance-Conditioned Traffic Noise Air Pollution Disclosure
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Selective Emphasis Permissibility Boundary BER Present Case
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Client vs. Public Interest Tension in Public Hearing Presentation
Engineer A Direct Question Complete Honest Answer City Planning Board
prevails over
Engineer A Faithful Agent Developer F Public Hearing Presentation
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
No State context committed for this edge.
Engineer A Present Case Multi-Witness Hearing Institutional Reliance Non-Volunteering
prevails over
Engineer A Competing Public Goods Balanced Disclosure Assessment BER Present Case
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Traffic Noise Air Pollution Disclosure Relevance Determination
- Multi-Engineer Testimony on Omitted Adverse Impacts at Public Hearing
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Consulting Firm Principal BER 65-9 Cost Estimate Disagreement Non-Objectionability vs Consulting Firm Principal BER 65-9 Highway Route Disagreement Public Letter
Engineer A Artfully Misleading Presentation Prohibition Waterfront Development Hearing vs Engineer A Faithful Agent Developer F Public Hearing Presentation
Engineer A Conditional Disclosure Willingness Traffic Noise Pollution City Planning Board vs Engineer A Multi-Witness Hearing Institutional Reliance Non-Volunteering Developer F Waterfront
Engineer A Faithful Agent Developer F Public Hearing Presentation vs Engineer A Non-Volunteering Adverse Impacts Public Hearing Developer F
Engineer A Faithful Agent Selective Emphasis Permissibility Boundary BER Present Case vs Engineer A Public Hearing Technical Testimony Public Welfare Role City X
Engineer A Faithful Agent Selective Emphasis Permissibility City X Waterfront vs Engineer A Present Case Relevance-Conditioned Traffic Noise Air Pollution Disclosure
Engineer A NSPE Code Conformance Public Testimony Waterfront Development vs Engineer A Non-Volunteering Adverse Impacts Public Hearing Developer F
Engineer A Non-Concealment Public Welfare Impact Waterfront Development Presentation vs Engineer A Non-Volunteering Adverse Impacts Public Hearing Developer F
Engineer A Present Case Multi-Witness Hearing Institutional Reliance Non-Volunteering vs Engineer A Present Case Relevance Pertinence Professional Judgment Exercise
Engineer C BER 79-2 Landfill Public Challenge Ethical Permissibility vs Engineers A B BER 79-2 Landfill Design Professional Judgment Trade-Off
Engineer C BER 79-2 Post-Decision Non-Ethical-Indictment of Engineers A and B vs Engineers A and B BER 79-2 Landfill Environmental Trade-Off Case-By-Case Judgment
What the board concluded
- It was not unethical for Engineer X to fail to volunteer the fact that the anticipated commercial development could increase traffic, as well as noise and air pollution.
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 |