Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 22-10 (2022) · Sustainability - Lawn Irrigation Design
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
Jaylani Cutting Edge Timely Risk Disclosure Water Table Semi-Arid Region
prevails over
Jaylani Cutting Edge Faithful Agent Sustainability Trustee Resort Client
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Duties Between Contract Execution and Sustainability Obligations
- Historically Underserved Regional Water Access Impact
- Undisclosed Water Table Risk to Client
- Water Table Depletion Risk from Irrigation Design
Wasser Sustainable Development Advocacy Communication to Jaylani
prevails over
Wasser Task Refusal Proportionality Assessment
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Wasser Mandatory vs Encouraged Code Provision Tension
- Wasser Subordinate Task Refusal on Sustainability Grounds
Wasser Environmental Risk Escalation Water Table Hydrogeological Study
prevails over
Wasser Interdisciplinary Scope Boundary Respect Landscape Architect Specification
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Historically Underserved Regional Water Access Impact
- Water Table Depletion Risk from Irrigation Design
Jaylani Cutting Edge Environmental Stewardship Water Table Semi-Arid
prevails over
Jaylani Cutting Edge Faithful Agent Sustainability Trustee Resort Client
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Duties Between Contract Execution and Sustainability Obligations
- Historically Underserved Regional Water Access Impact
- Undisclosed Water Table Risk to Client
- Water Table Depletion Risk from Irrigation Design
Jaylani Cutting Edge Client Notification Sustainability Environmental Conflict
prevails over
Jaylani Cutting Edge Faithful Agent Sustainability Trustee Resort Client
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Competing Duties Between Contract Execution and Sustainability Obligations
- Historically Underserved Regional Water Access Impact
- Undisclosed Water Table Risk to Client
- Water Table Depletion Risk from Irrigation Design
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Jaylani Cutting Edge Faithful Agent Sustainability Trustee Resort Client vs Jaylani Cutting Edge Sustainable Development Integration Resort Irrigation
Wasser Environmental Risk Escalation Water Table Hydrogeological Study vs Wasser Task Refusal Proportionality Assessment
Wasser Interdisciplinary Scope Boundary Respect Landscape Architect Specification vs Wasser Sustainable Development Advocacy Communication to Jaylani
What the board concluded
- It was ethical for Engineer Jaylani to accept the irrigation system design task.
- As a matter of personal conviction, it was ethically permissible, but extreme, for Engineer Intern Wasser to refuse the task of design development for the proposed irrigation system.
- Under the facts, traditional lawn irrigation system design is an ethical expression of engineering work.
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 Wetland Confidentiality Limits | Engineer A Faithful Agent Limits Wetland | Engineer A Confirmed Environmental Risk; Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty Conflict |
| Engineer A Safety Obligation Wetland Fill | Engineer A Faithful Agent Limits Wetland | Engineer A Confirmed Environmental Risk; Engineer A Faithful Agent Duty Conflict |