Obligation-Conflict Resolution - Failure To Report Information Affecting Public Safety

Obligation-Conflict Resolution

Case 90-5 (1990) · Failure To Report Information Affecting Public Safety

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

Featured

Current Case Engineer A Attorney-Directed Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Tenant Safety prevails over Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Attorney Confidentiality Instruction Over Immediate Safety Findings
Current Case: Public Safety at Risk — Imminent Structural Danger to Tenants
Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

BER-84-5 Engineer A Cost-Pressure Safety Recommendation Abandonment prevails over BER-84-5 Engineer A Passive Acquiescence to Client Cost-Driven Safety Override

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

BER 84-5: Client Cost-Driven Rejection of On-Site Safety Representative
BER 84-5: Public Safety at Risk from Dangerous Construction Without Oversight

Current Case Engineer A Forensic Expert Non-Advocate Objectivity Compliance Failure prevails over Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Attorney Confidentiality Instruction Over Immediate Safety Findings
Current Case: Public Safety at Risk — Imminent Structural Danger to Tenants
Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

Current Case Engineer A Public Authority Notification Imminent Structural Danger prevails over Engineer A Attorney Confidentiality Compliance Imminent Tenant Safety Violation

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

Engineer A Client Safety Violation Insistence Withdrawal Failure Attorney Confidentiality prevails over Engineer A Passive Acquiescence Attorney Confidentiality Independent Ethical Failure

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

Current Case Engineer A Licensure-Grounded Superior Knowledge Public Safety Duty prevails over Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Attorney Confidentiality Instruction Over Immediate Safety Findings
Current Case: Public Safety at Risk — Imminent Structural Danger to Tenants
Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

BER-82-2 Engineer A Client Confidentiality Breach Without Prior Consent prevails over BER-82-2 Engineer A Unauthorized Home Inspection Report Disclosure to Real Estate Firm

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

BER 82-2: Confidential Information Held — Home Inspection Findings

Current Case Engineer A Section II.1.c. Exception Clause Activation prevails over Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Attorney Confidentiality Instruction Over Immediate Safety Findings
Current Case: Public Safety at Risk — Imminent Structural Danger to Tenants
Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

Current Case Engineer A Tenant Direct Notification Imminent Structural Danger prevails over Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure

the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)

the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):

Attorney Confidentiality Instruction Over Immediate Safety Findings
Current Case: Public Safety at Risk — Imminent Structural Danger to Tenants
Immediate Structural Threat to Tenant Safety

Open tensions recorded without a resolution: Current Case Engineer A Attorney-Directed Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Tenant Safety vs Current Case Engineer A Confidentiality Scope Limitation Public Danger Disclosure Current Case Engineer A Competing Confidentiality-Safety Provision Contextual Balancing vs Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure vs Engineer A Forensic Expert Non-Advocate Objectivity Suppression Violation

What the board concluded

It was unethical for Engineer A to not report the information directly to the tenants and public authorities.

How comparable cases resolved the same tension

Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure yields to Current Case Engineer A Attorney-Directed Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Tenant Safety. The yielding obligation ("Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Structural Safety Compliance Failure") 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)
92-6 Public Welfare - Hazardous Waste	BER 89-7 Structural Engineer Public Authority Safety Reporting	BER 89-7 Structural Engineer Confidentiality Non-Override Public Safety Reporting	BER 89-7 Confidentiality Agreement Suppressing Safety Report; BER 89-7 Out-of-Scope Code Violation in Occupied Building Sale
19-10 Public Health and Safety— Observed...	Engineer A Certificate of Occupancy Authority Re-Notification Structural Deficiency	Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Bar Structural Disclosure County Official	Public Safety at Risk — Structural Instability
00-5 Public Welfare—Bridge Structure	BER 90-5 Engineer Attorney-Directed Confidentiality Non-Override Imminent Occupant Safety	BER 90-5 Engineer Confidentiality Scope Limitation Public Danger Disclosure	BER 90-5 Attorney-Directed Safety Concealment in Litigation
10-5 Public Health and Safety—Observing...	Engineer A Out-of-Scope Adjacent Safety Observation Non-Mandatory Response	Engineer A Adjacent Third-Party Safety Disclosure Owner Y	Engineer A Out-of-Scope Adjacent Site Safety Observation; Engineer A Personal Conscience Discretion on Adjacent Site Safety; Potential Unconfirmed Safety Risk – Adjacent Subcontractor Work
09-10 Withholding Information Useful to...	Review Engineer A Peer Review Safety Code Sequential Escalation BER 96-8	Review Engineer A Confidentiality Non-Override of Public Safety BER 96-8	BER 96-8 Peer Review Safety Violation Discovery