DP5
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/98#DP5
Properties
Instance of
Decision Point Id
DP5
Decision question
When the contract documents and facts support the Contractor's position but the Owner demands a client-favoring finding, must Engineer A render an impartial determination that goes against the Owner's expressed preference, or does the duty of loyalty to the Owner require finding in the Owner's favor?
Focus
In the analogous BER Case 93-4 context, Engineer A has been contractually designated as the initial interpreter of contract documents and judge of the acceptability of work in a dispute between an Owner and a Contractor over a concrete pour. The Owner — Engineer A's client — demands that Engineer A find in the Owner's favor. Engineer A's objective review of the contract documents and facts supports the Contractor's position.
Option1
Issue an objective, technically grounded determination that finds in the Contractor's favor based solely on the contract documents and the facts of the dispute, recognizing that impartial role-faithful performance constitutes the highest form of faithful agency to the Owner and fulfills the engineer's contractual and ethical obligations, even though the finding contradicts the Owner's expressed preference.
Option2
Issue a determination favorable to the Owner on the grounds that the duty of loyalty to the client requires supporting the client's position in a dispute, treating the contractually designated role as subordinate to the general faithful agent obligation and the Owner's immediate interest in a favorable outcome.
Option3
Decline to render a determination in the dispute on the grounds that the conflict between the contractually designated impartiality requirement and the duty of loyalty to the Owner creates an irresolvable ethical tension, and recommend that the parties appoint a neutral third-party engineer to serve as dispute resolver.
Role
Engineer A (Contractually Designated Dispute Resolver, BER Case 93-4 Context)
TTL
@prefix case98: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/98#> .
@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#> .
case98:DP5 a proeth-cases:DecisionPoint,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "DP5" ;
proeth:decisionPointId "DP5" ;
proeth:decisionQuestion "When the contract documents and facts support the Contractor's position but the Owner demands a client-favoring finding, must Engineer A render an impartial determination that goes against the Owner's expressed preference, or does the duty of loyalty to the Owner require finding in the Owner's favor?" ;
proeth:focus "In the analogous BER Case 93-4 context, Engineer A has been contractually designated as the initial interpreter of contract documents and judge of the acceptability of work in a dispute between an Owner and a Contractor over a concrete pour. The Owner — Engineer A's client — demands that Engineer A find in the Owner's favor. Engineer A's objective review of the contract documents and facts supports the Contractor's position." ;
proeth:option1 "Issue an objective, technically grounded determination that finds in the Contractor's favor based solely on the contract documents and the facts of the dispute, recognizing that impartial role-faithful performance constitutes the highest form of faithful agency to the Owner and fulfills the engineer's contractual and ethical obligations, even though the finding contradicts the Owner's expressed preference." ;
proeth:option2 "Issue a determination favorable to the Owner on the grounds that the duty of loyalty to the client requires supporting the client's position in a dispute, treating the contractually designated role as subordinate to the general faithful agent obligation and the Owner's immediate interest in a favorable outcome." ;
proeth:option3 "Decline to render a determination in the dispute on the grounds that the conflict between the contractually designated impartiality requirement and the duty of loyalty to the Owner creates an irresolvable ethical tension, and recommend that the parties appoint a neutral third-party engineer to serve as dispute resolver." ;
proeth:roleLabel "Engineer A (Contractually Designated Dispute Resolver, BER Case 93-4 Context)" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-02-28T00:54:26.937231"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 98 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Generated
2026-02-28T00:54:26.937231
Generated by
ProEthica Case 98 Extraction