Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 22-2 (2022) · Sharing As-Built Drawings
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
Pre-Bid Selective Information Sharing Prohibition Engineer D Post-Award Disclosure
prevails over
Engineer D Faithful Agent Obligation State Agency Fire Protection
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Faithful Agent Boundary — Employer Information Sharing
- Post-Award As-Built Sharing — Faithful Agent and Confidentiality Analysis
Engineer D Pre-Bid Selective Information Sharing Prohibition As-Built Drawings
prevails over
Engineer D Fire Protection System As-Built Safety Disclosure Renovation Projects
No State context committed for this edge.
Bid Document Material Information Inclusion Engineer D Sprinkler As-Builts
prevails over
Engineer D Employer Information Consent Requirement As-Built Drawings
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Post-Award As-Built Disclosure
- Undisclosed Available As-Built Drawings in Bid Documents
Engineer D Pre-Bid As-Built Drawing Disclosure State Agency Renovation Projects
prevails over
Engineer D Informal Information Sharing Restraint As-Built Drawings
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Agency Absent Formal As-Built Disclosure Process
- Undisclosed Available As-Built Drawings in Bid Documents
Proactive Formal Process Initiation Engineer D Recurring Pre-Bid Requests
prevails over
Informal Information Sharing Restraint Engineer D As-Built Drawings
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Emerging Informal Pre-Bid As-Built Request Pattern
Equal Pre-Bid Information Access Enforcement Engineer D Pre-Bid Request Pattern
prevails over
Engineer D Good Intent Non-Justification Informal As-Built Sharing
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer D Informal As-Built Sharing Without Formal Permission
Engineer D Proactive Formal Process Initiation As-Built Drawing Gap
prevails over
Engineer D Informal Information Sharing Restraint As-Built Drawings
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Public Agency Absent Formal As-Built Disclosure Process
- Undisclosed Available As-Built Drawings in Bid Documents
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Engineer D Employer Information Consent Requirement As-Built Drawings vs Engineer D Pre-Bid As-Built Drawing Disclosure State Agency Renovation Projects
Engineer D Equal Pre-Bid Information Access Enforcement Sprinkler Contractors vs Engineer D Pre-Bid Selective Information Sharing Prohibition As-Built Drawings
Engineer D Faithful Agent Obligation State Agency Fire Protection vs Engineer D Pre-Bid As-Built Drawing Disclosure State Agency Renovation Projects
Engineer D Fire Protection System As-Built Safety Disclosure Renovation Projects vs Engineer D Informal Information Sharing Restraint As-Built Drawings
Engineer D Good Intent Non-Justification Informal As-Built Sharing vs Engineer D Informal Information Sharing Restraint As-Built Drawings
Equal Pre-Bid Information Access Enforcement Engineer D Pre-Bid Request Pattern vs Pre-Bid Selective Information Sharing Prohibition Engineer D Post-Award Disclosure
Faithful Agent Obligation Engineer D State Agency Procurement vs Pre-Bid As-Built Drawing Disclosure Engineer D State Agency Sprinkler Renovation
Fire Protection System As-Built Safety Disclosure Engineer D Renovation Projects vs Informal Information Sharing Restraint Engineer D As-Built Drawings
What the board concluded
- It is ethical for Engineer D to make it known that as-built drawings are available; but they should be readily available to contractors as part of the standard project delivery process to assure that all contractors have equal access to the information.
- It is unethical for Engineer D to share as-built documents selectively pre-bid.
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 |