Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 02-11 (2002) · Duty To Report Violation—Anonymous Complaint
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
Featured
Engineer A BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Non-Excuse for Safety Reporting
prevails over
Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 89-7 Public Safety at Risk from Building Code Violations
Engineer A Current Case Self-Policing Foundational Reporting Duty
prevails over
Engineer A Collegial Pre-Reporting Engagement Non-Requirement Serious Violation BER Case
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Peer Violation Observation State
Engineer A Anonymous Filing Permissibility Assessment BER Case
prevails over
Engineer A Collegial Pre-Reporting Engagement Non-Requirement Serious Violation BER Case
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer A Peer Violation Observation State
Engineer A BER 89-7 Out-of-Discipline Safety Code Violation Reporting
prevails over
Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 89-7 Public Safety at Risk from Building Code Violations
Engineer A Anonymous Filing Permissibility Assessment BER Case
prevails over
Engineer B Procedural Fairness Interest in Knowing Accuser Identity
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Present Case Anonymous Complainant Identity Concealment Fairness
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer A Anonymous Filing Permissibility Assessment BER Case vs Engineer A Current Case Signed Complaint Policy Preference
Engineer A BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Non-Excuse for Safety Reporting vs Engineer A BER 89-7 Out-of-Discipline Safety Code Violation Reporting
Engineer A Current Case Anonymous Complaint Case-Weakening Acknowledgment vs Engineer B Procedural Fairness Interest in Knowing Accuser Identity
What the board concluded
- It was ethical for Engineer A to submit an anonymous letter to the state engineering licensure board as long as the state engineering licensure board has a procedure for accepting anonymous complaints.
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency yields to Engineer A BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Non-Excuse for Safety Reporting. The yielding obligation ("Engineer A BER 89-7 Brief Report Mention Insufficiency") 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
00-5
Public Welfare—Bridge Structure
|
BER 89-7 Engineer Confidentiality Non-Override Structural Safety | BER 89-7 Engineer Brief Report Mention Insufficiency Safety Notification | BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Suppressing Occupant Safety Report |
|
92-6
Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste
|
BER 89-7 Structural Engineer Client Safety Violation Insistence or Withdrawal | BER 89-7 Structural Engineer Passive Acquiescence Safety Violation Non-Reporting | BER 89-7 Out-of-Scope Code Violation in Occupied Building Sale |
|
19-1
Disclosure of Personal Information
|
BER 97-11 Engineer A Pending Complaint Non-Disclosure to Client B Ethical Permissibility | BER 97-11 Engineer A Prudential Background Information Weighing | Engineer A Competing Duties State |
|
08-10
Public Welfare—Design of Medical Equipment
|
Engineer Doe Public Hearing Triggering Condition External Reporting BER 76-4 | Engineer Doe Client Report Suppression Resistance BER 76-4 | BER 76-4 Client-Suppressed Findings at Public Hearing |
|
90-5
Failure To Report Information Affecting...
|
BER-84-5 Engineer A Cost-Pressure Safety Recommendation Abandonment | BER-84-5 Engineer A Passive Acquiescence to Client Cost-Driven Safety Override | BER 84-5: Client Cost-Driven Rejection of On-Site Safety Representative; BER 84-5: Public Safety at Risk from Dangerous Construction Without Oversight |