Confidentiality Agreement Non-Supersession — Attorney Retention Context
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/136#Confidentiality_Agreement_Non-Supersession_—_Attorney_Retention_Context
Properties
Instance of
ConfidentialityAgreementNon-SupersessionofImminentDangerDisclosureObligation
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#ConfidentialityAgreementNon-SupersessionofImminentDangerDisclosureObligation
Applied to
Engineer A's contractual/professional confidentiality obligation to attorney versus obligation to disclose imminent structural danger
Balancing with
Attorney-Directed Confidentiality Non-Override of Imminent Structural Safety Disclosure
Confidentiality Principle
Concrete expression
The confidentiality obligation arising from Engineer A's retention by the attorney — which would normally require prior consent before revealing facts obtained in a professional capacity — does not supersede Engineer A's professional duty to disclose conditions constituting an immediate and imminent danger to the safety of building occupants.
Confidence
0.95
Importance
high
Interpretation
Any purported confidentiality obligation arising from the attorney-engineer retention relationship yields to the paramount public safety obligation when the discovered conditions constitute an immediate and imminent danger; the confidentiality obligation cannot be used to suppress life-safety disclosures.
Invoked by
Board of Ethical Review
Tension resolution
The confidentiality obligation is overridden by the imminent danger exception; Engineer A must disclose to tenants and public authorities as an ethical responsibility, not merely a permission.
Source Evidence
Source text
Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent. That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law.
Text references
Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent.
That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law.
TTL
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
<http://proethica.org/ontology/case/136#Confidentiality_Agreement_Non-Supersession_—_Attorney_Retention_Context> a proeth:ConfidentialityAgreementNon-SupersessionofImminentDangerDisclosureObligation,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Confidentiality Agreement Non-Supersession — Attorney Retention Context" ;
proeth:appliedto "Engineer A's contractual/professional confidentiality obligation to attorney versus obligation to disclose imminent structural danger" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Attorney-Directed Confidentiality Non-Override of Imminent Structural Safety Disclosure",
"Confidentiality Principle" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The confidentiality obligation arising from Engineer A's retention by the attorney — which would normally require prior consent before revealing facts obtained in a professional capacity — does not supersede Engineer A's professional duty to disclose conditions constituting an immediate and imminent danger to the safety of building occupants." ;
proeth:confidence "0.95" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "136" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "136" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "Any purported confidentiality obligation arising from the attorney-engineer retention relationship yields to the paramount public safety obligation when the discovered conditions constitute an immediate and imminent danger; the confidentiality obligation cannot be used to suppress life-safety disclosures." ;
proeth:invokedby "Board of Ethical Review" ;
proeth:principleclass "Confidentiality Agreement Non-Supersession of Imminent Danger Disclosure Obligation" ;
proeth:sourcetext "Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent. That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law." ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The confidentiality obligation is overridden by the imminent danger exception; Engineer A must disclose to tenants and public authorities as an ethical responsibility, not merely a permission." ;
proeth:textreferences "Section II.1.c. makes a clear exception concerning the obligation of engineers not to reveal facts obtained in a professional capacity without the client's consent.",
"That exception allows the disclosure of such information in cases authorized by the Code or required by law." ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 136 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T13:14:37.526418"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 136 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
136
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00
First case
136
Generated
2026-03-01T13:03:31.215609+00:00
Attributed to
Case 136 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-01T13:14:37.526418
Generated by
ProEthica Case 136 Extraction