Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 23-3 (2023) · Post-Public Employment - City Engineer Transitioning to Consultant
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
Firm AE&R Incumbent Advantage Non-Exploitation Obligation Instance
prevails over
Firm AE&R Honorable Professional Conduct in Procurement Obligation Instance
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
No State context committed for this edge.
Engineer D Faithful Agent Obligation Instance
prevails over
Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Insider Knowledge Advantage
- Engineer D No Formal Revolving Door Prohibition
- Engineer D Post-Employment Conflict of Interest
- Engineer D Revolving Door Employment
Engineer D Competitive Procurement Fairness Obligation Instance
prevails over
Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Insider Knowledge Advantage
- Engineer D No Formal Revolving Door Prohibition
- Engineer D Post-Employment Conflict of Interest
- Engineer D Revolving Door Employment
Featured
Engineer D Revolving Door Conflict Disclosure Obligation Instance
prevails over
Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Insider Knowledge Advantage
- Engineer D No Formal Revolving Door Prohibition
- Engineer D Post-Employment Conflict of Interest
- Engineer D Revolving Door Employment
Engineer D Post-Public-Service Recusal Obligation Instance
prevails over
Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Insider Knowledge Advantage
- Engineer D No Formal Revolving Door Prohibition
- Engineer D Post-Employment Conflict of Interest
- Engineer D Revolving Door Employment
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer D Concurrent Employment Negotiation Conflict Avoidance Obligation Instance vs Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance
Engineer D Honorable Professional Conduct in Procurement Obligation Instance vs Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance
What the board concluded
- As to whether it would be ethical for Engineer D to be immediately, directly involved with AE&R's projects with the City, the answer is mixed as multiple considerations and details will affect the outcome.
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance yields to Engineer D Revolving Door Conflict Disclosure Obligation Instance. The yielding obligation ("Engineer D Revolving Door Employment Acceptance Integrity Obligation Instance") 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
22-3
Review of Other Engineer’s Work
|
Engineer C Competitor Critique Declination Obligation Instance | Engineer C Truthfulness Insufficiency Recognition Obligation Instance | Engineer C Incomplete Circumstantial Knowledge of Engineer B's Work |
|
01-11
Conflict Of Interest—Consultant Serving As...
|
Engineer A WXY Engineering Conflict of Interest Disclosure Evolution Compliance | WXY Engineers Incumbent Multi-Contract City Engineer Non-Acceptance Obligation Instance | Small Municipality Consulting Firm Appointment - BER 74-2; WXY Engineering Conditional Ethical Permissibility - Present Case; WXY No Private Work Conflict Negation - Present Case |
|
01-1
Employment—Questioning Ability Of Former Employer
|
Engineer A Non-Competition Representation Fidelity Violation | Engineer A Departing Engineer Client Solicitation Honesty Obligation | Engineer A Post-Employment Non-Compete Misrepresentation |
|
75-5
Personal Misconduct
|
Engineer A Probationary Employment Context Fraud Aggravated Ethics Violation | Engineer A Criminal Conviction Employment Acceptance Honest Disclosure | Engineer A Whole-Person Integrity Scrutiny State |
|
22-4
Duty to Report Misconduct
|
Engineer A Proportionate Characterization State Q Proposal Analysis | Competitor Qualification Proposal Misconduct Reporting Obligation Engineer A State Q | Engineer A Multi-Jurisdiction Rule Stringency Differential; Engineer B State Q Attribution Ambiguity |