DP1
Individual
83cfeb50
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/179#DP1
Properties
Parent
Decision Point Id
DP1
Decision Question
Should Engineer A accept the adverse plaintiff retention against former client ABC Manufacturing in the unrelated product liability matter, and on what ethical basis?
Focus
After having served ABC Manufacturing as an expert witness in patent litigation, Engineer A is approached by Attorney X to serve as an expert witness against ABC Manufacturing in an entirely unrelated product liability matter. Engineer A must decide whether accepting this adverse engagement is ethically permissible and, if so, how to proceed.
Option1
Accept Attorney X's retention in the product liability matter, proactively disclosing to Attorney X — before or at the moment of acceptance — that Engineer A previously served ABC Manufacturing in patent litigation, asserting that the matters are entirely unrelated and no confidential information from the prior engagement is implicated, thereby satisfying the evolved disclosure-based conflict standard.
Option2
Decline Attorney X's retention on the basis that serving against a former client in any matter — regardless of relatedness — creates an impermissible conflict of interest or violates a perpetual duty of loyalty owed to ABC Manufacturing as a former client, applying the older categorical avoidance standard rather than the evolved disclosure-based standard.
Option3
Accept Attorney X's retention without proactively disclosing the prior ABC Manufacturing relationship, proceeding on the assumption that the unrelated nature of the matters renders disclosure unnecessary, thereby risking a violation of the evolved conflict-of-interest disclosure obligation and exposing Engineer A to the appearance-of-impropriety challenge raised during cross-examination.
Role Label
Engineer A — Forensic Expert Witness
TTL
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@prefix proethica_case_179: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/179> .
<http://proethica.org/ontology/case/179#DP1> a owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "DP1" ;
rdfs:subClassOf <http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint> .
Metadata
Ontology
Type
Individual
Content Hash
83cfeb50d1056b39...Last Updated
2026-03-08 16:29
Extraction Provenance
Generated
2026-03-01T07:21:42.188149
Generated By
ProEthica Case 179 Extraction