DP1
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/170#DP1
Properties
Instance of
Decision Point Id
DP1
Decision question
Should Engineer A accept the contractor's retainer as expert witness against the U.S. government in the same dam failure matter, notwithstanding that the prior government engagement has been formally completed and compensated?
Focus
Engineer A has completed and been paid in full for forensic investigation work performed on behalf of the U.S. government in a dam failure matter. A contractor who has filed a claim against the government arising from the same dam project subsequently approaches Engineer A and offers a retainer to serve as an expert witness. Engineer A must decide whether to accept or decline this adverse engagement, knowing that the prior government engagement gave Engineer A access to confidential forensic findings, investigative methodologies, and strategic analysis belonging to the government.
Option1
Refuse the contractor's offer of retention as expert witness in the dam failure claim, recognizing that the 1981 revision of NSPE Code Section III.4.b bars adverse participation using specialized knowledge gained for a former client regardless of whether the prior engagement has been formally terminated and fully compensated.
Option2
Accept the contractor's retainer on the condition of pledging to conduct a wholly separate and independent forensic analysis, relying on the formal termination of the government engagement and full payment as sufficient cure of any conflict, and on pre-1981 precedent such as Case 76-3 as justification.
Option3
Accept the contractor's retainer without restriction or condition, treating the completed government engagement as a closed matter that creates no continuing ethical obligations, and proceeding to provide expert testimony based on firsthand knowledge of the dam failure facts.
Role
Government-Retained Forensic Engineer Facing Adverse Contractor Solicitation
TTL
@prefix case170: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/170#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix proeth-cases: <http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#> .
@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#> .
case170:DP1 a proeth-cases:DecisionPoint,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "DP1" ;
proeth:decisionPointId "DP1" ;
proeth:decisionQuestion "Should Engineer A accept the contractor's retainer as expert witness against the U.S. government in the same dam failure matter, notwithstanding that the prior government engagement has been formally completed and compensated?" ;
proeth:focus "Engineer A has completed and been paid in full for forensic investigation work performed on behalf of the U.S. government in a dam failure matter. A contractor who has filed a claim against the government arising from the same dam project subsequently approaches Engineer A and offers a retainer to serve as an expert witness. Engineer A must decide whether to accept or decline this adverse engagement, knowing that the prior government engagement gave Engineer A access to confidential forensic findings, investigative methodologies, and strategic analysis belonging to the government." ;
proeth:option1 "Refuse the contractor's offer of retention as expert witness in the dam failure claim, recognizing that the 1981 revision of NSPE Code Section III.4.b bars adverse participation using specialized knowledge gained for a former client regardless of whether the prior engagement has been formally terminated and fully compensated." ;
proeth:option2 "Accept the contractor's retainer on the condition of pledging to conduct a wholly separate and independent forensic analysis, relying on the formal termination of the government engagement and full payment as sufficient cure of any conflict, and on pre-1981 precedent such as Case 76-3 as justification." ;
proeth:option3 "Accept the contractor's retainer without restriction or condition, treating the completed government engagement as a closed matter that creates no continuing ethical obligations, and proceeding to provide expert testimony based on firsthand knowledge of the dam failure facts." ;
proeth:roleLabel "Government-Retained Forensic Engineer Facing Adverse Contractor Solicitation" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-01T21:29:30.037282"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 170 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Generated
2026-03-01T21:29:30.037282
Generated by
ProEthica Case 170 Extraction