Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 21-12 (2021) · Duty to Report – Material Information
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 Non-Subordination Political Bargain BER 98-5 Grandfathering Ordinance
prevails over
Engineer A Persistent Escalation BER 19-10 Structural Instability
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 19-10 County Building Official Non-Response State
Featured
Engineer Intern A Complete Unfiltered Upward Reporting Present Case Bridge Defect History
prevails over
Subordinate Inspector Oversight Defect Escalation Met By Engineer Intern A Current Defect
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Bridge Defect Unreported for Five Years
- Engineer Intern A Incomplete Defect History Disclosure State
- Inspector Systematic Non-Reporting Pattern
Engineer A Public Welfare Safety Escalation BER 19-10 Non-Imminent Collapse
prevails over
Engineer A Persistent Escalation BER 19-10 Structural Instability
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 19-10 County Building Official Non-Response State
Safety Obligation Invoked Engineer Intern A Bridge Defect Five Year History
prevails over
Engineer Intern A Materiality Judgment Restraint Present Case Bridge Inspection
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Engineer Intern A Materiality Judgment Incompetence State
- Engineer Intern A Selective Information Omission in Report to Supervisor
- Engineer Intern A Unverified Scope of Structural Risk
Systemic Inspection Failure Escalation Violated By Engineer Intern A Bridge Program
prevails over
Subordinate Inspector Oversight Defect Escalation Met By Engineer Intern A Current Defect
the two obligations are in tension (competesWith)
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- Bridge Defect Unreported for Five Years
- Engineer Intern A Incomplete Defect History Disclosure State
- Inspector Systematic Non-Reporting Pattern
Engineer A Systemic Defect Multi-Party Notification BER 17-3 Tract Housing
prevails over
Engineer A Written Notification New Owner BER 07-10 Barn Structural Deficiency
the yielding obligation gives way only under (defeasibleUnder):
- BER 07-10 Modified Barn Collapse Risk State
Open tensions recorded without a resolution:
Complete Unfiltered Upward Reporting Violated By Engineer Intern A Bridge Inspection vs Engineer Intern A Materiality Judgment Restraint Present Case Bridge Inspection
Engineer A Public Welfare Safety Escalation BER 19-10 Non-Imminent Collapse vs Engineer A Systemic Defect Multi-Party Notification BER 17-3 Tract Housing
Engineer B Supervising PE Active Inquiry Present Case Partial Report vs Supervising PE Active Inquiry Obligation Engineer B Bridge Inspection Program
What the board concluded
- It was not ethical for Engineer Intern A to fail to report to Engineer B that the defect had been missed for at least five years.
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Subordinate Inspector Oversight Defect Escalation Met By Engineer Intern A Current Defect yields to Engineer Intern A Complete Unfiltered Upward Reporting Present Case Bridge Defect History. The yielding obligation ("Subordinate Inspector Oversight Defect Escalation Met By Engineer Intern A Current Defect") 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
22-7
Impaired Engineering
|
Engineer Intern C Non-Aiding Unlawful Practice Violation Instance | Engineer Intern C Subordinate Complicity Prohibition Violation Instance | Engineer Intern C Unlicensed Responsible Charge Delegation |
|
97-13
Duty To Report Unrelated Information...
|
Corrective Action Monitoring Engineer A Bridge Wall Defect Post-Verbal-Report | Engineer A Wall Defect Premature External Authority Reporting Prohibition | Engineer A No External Escalation After Suppression; Graduated Escalation — Speculative Concern Requiring Calibrated Response |
|
94-5
Conflict Of Interest Providing Both City...
|
Firm A City Infrastructure Standard Primacy in Inspection | Firm A Inspection Quality Non-Subordination to Developer Approval Incentive | Firm A Developer-Compensated Public Review and Inspection Services; Firm A Reduced-Scope Public Service Marketing Suspicion |
|
98-5
Public Health And Safety - Code Enforcement
|
Engineer A Safety Code Grandfathering Concurrence Refusal | Engineer A Building Inspection Program Structural Adequacy Escalation | Building Department Inspection Resource Constraint |
|
03-6
Employment—Duty To Disclose Revocation Of...
|
Engineer F Contractor License Revocation Non-Disclosure Employment Application | Engineering Firm Hiring Authority Broad Disciplinary Inquiry Due Diligence | -- |