Obligation-Conflict Resolution - Expert Witness—Chair of Standards and Safety Committee

Obligation-Conflict Resolution

Case 19-3 (2019) · Expert Witness—Chair of Standards and Safety Committee

Case Precedents

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

Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Expert Witness Credential Misrepresentation prevails over Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Governmental Employee Private Consulting Conflict

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Dual Role Conflict

Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Non-Communication with Engineer B Regarding Litigation prevails over Engineer A Forensic Expert Objectivity in Defense Retention Pressure Vessel Explosion

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A Adversarial Expert Engagement State
Engineer A Adversarial Proceeding Expert Independence State
Engineer A Conflict of Interest State - Personal vs Professional

Featured

Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Dual Disclosure to Attorney X prevails over Engineer A Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion of Forensic Service

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A Boiler Case Opposing Expert Shared Committee Leadership
Engineer A Boiler Code Chair Expert Witness Conflict Assessment
Engineer A Competing Duties - Committee Role vs Expert Role
Engineer A Conflict of Interest - Committee Chair vs Opposing Expert

Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Governmental Employee Private Consulting Conflict prevails over Engineer A DOT Traffic Engineer Airport Consulting Dual Role Conflict

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A State DOT Airport Consulting Dual Role Conflict

Engineer A Dual Role Appearance of Impropriety Management Committee Chair and Defense Expert prevails over Engineer A Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion of Forensic Service

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A Boiler Case Opposing Expert Shared Committee Leadership
Engineer A Boiler Code Chair Expert Witness Conflict Assessment
Engineer A Competing Duties - Committee Role vs Expert Role
Engineer A Conflict of Interest - Committee Chair vs Opposing Expert

Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Expert Witness Conflict Disclosure to Attorney X prevails over Engineer A Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion of Forensic Service

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A Boiler Case Opposing Expert Shared Committee Leadership
Engineer A Boiler Code Chair Expert Witness Conflict Assessment
Engineer A Competing Duties - Committee Role vs Expert Role
Engineer A Conflict of Interest - Committee Chair vs Opposing Expert

Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Forensic Expert Honesty and Integrity Obligation prevails over Engineer A Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion of Forensic Service

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A Boiler Case Opposing Expert Shared Committee Leadership
Engineer A Boiler Code Chair Expert Witness Conflict Assessment
Engineer A Competing Duties - Committee Role vs Expert Role
Engineer A Conflict of Interest - Committee Chair vs Opposing Expert

Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Forensic Expert Objectivity Obligation prevails over Engineer A Forensic Expert Objectivity in Defense Retention Pressure Vessel Explosion

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Engineer A Adversarial Expert Engagement State
Engineer A Adversarial Proceeding Expert Independence State
Engineer A Conflict of Interest State - Personal vs Professional

Open tensions recorded without a resolution: Engineer A DOT Traffic Engineer Airport Consulting Dual Role Conflict vs Engineer A Forensic Expert Objectivity in Defense Retention Pressure Vessel Explosion Engineer A Forensic Expert Objectivity in Defense Retention Pressure Vessel Explosion vs Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Dual Disclosure to Attorney X Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Expert Witness Conflict Disclosure to Attorney X vs Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Forensic Expert Objectivity Obligation

What the board concluded

Engineer A's role as a private forensic engineering expert should not present any clear or apparent conflict of interest.
Engineer A has an obligation to (1) fully disclose to Attorney X his role as the chairman of the boiler code standards and safety committee within an engineering society, and (2) advise Attorney X that Engineer B serves a member of one of the technical subcommittees within the boiler code standards and safety committee.
Engineer A has an obligation to be respectful of Engineer B in his role as a member of one of the technical subcommittees within the boiler code standards and safety committee and also not engage in any written or verbal exchanges with Engineer B regarding the pending litigation without direction from legal counsel.

How comparable cases resolved the same tension

Engineer A Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion of Forensic Service yields to Engineer A Standards Committee Chair Dual Disclosure to Attorney X. The yielding obligation ("Engineer A Volunteer Standards Role Non-Preclusion of Forensic Service") 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)
85-4 Objectivity of Engineer Retained as Expert	Engineer A Forensic Expert Honesty and Integrity Correctly Applied Initial Engagement	Engineer A Forensic Expert Witness Objectivity Correctly Applied Initial Engagement	Engineer A Cross-Side Retention in Active Litigation; Same-Proceeding Cross-Side Engagement Absolute Prohibition
15-8 Confidentiality of Competitor Information...	Engineer A Former Client Confidentiality Perpetuation Post-Termination	Engineer A Forensic Expert Switching Sides Prohibition	Engineer A Conflict of Interest — Cross-Side Adversarial Retention BER 85-4; Engineer A Cross-Side Retention After Plaintiff Confidential Access — BER Case 85-4
21-9 Misrepresentation of Qualifications	Engineer A Forensic Diplomate Title Use	Engineer A Expert Witness Licensure Compliance	Engineer A Non-Engineering Expert Retention; Engineer A Non-Engineering Retention State M; Engineer A Unlicensed State M Practice
10-8 Selection of Firm—FOIA Request	Engineer B Present Case Public Procurement Misrepresentation Check Transparency Recognition	Engineer A Present Case Public Procurement Qualifications Confidentiality Self-Protection	Confidential Information in Public Procurement Submission Risk
11-12 Reviewing Work of Another Engineer and...	Engineer A Candid Performance Assessment of Engineer B Road Project	Engineer B Professional Dignity Protection in Performance Evaluation	--