A former UNBC lecturer has been ordered to pay a Prince George investment advisor nearly $8,000 for failing to live up to his duties as a project manager in a computer software development venture.
Zaidong Dong, who taught courses in finance and business administration at UNBC, had filed a lawsuit seeking $11,760 from Miles Clyne for services rendered as a project manager.
Clyne countersued for $25,000 for a variety of damages related to a set of circumstances that took Prince George Provincial Court Judge Michael Brecknell most of his 35-page reason for judgment, released this week, to set out.
It began in 2007 when Clyne had an idea for a portfolio management tool that would allow him to better review securities performance and give his clients better advice for their investment strategies.
In the process, Clyne was introduced to Michael Townrow, a programmer analyst at UNBC who also provides computer program design services for private clients. Townrow built a prototype over many months and it was further modified and revised with input from Clyne until 2010.
Clyne then approached Townrow's supervisors at UNBC to have him build a final version that could possibly be sold to other financial advisors. When the surpervisors turned down the request, Clyne asked if Townrow could do the work under a private contract.
Townrow said it would take six to 12 months but for business reasons, Clyne said he needed the work completed more quickly . Sometime in 2009 or 2010, Clyne and Dong had met and in discussions about the project, Dong suggested a friend Wenfa Qi, do the work. Qi, who lived in Beijing, China, was described by Dong as "an experienced senior computer programmer" employed by the same software development corporation Dong worked for.
Clyne decided to rely on Qi and asked Townrow to provide occasional consulting advice on the project.
In July 2011, Qi flew to Prince George and met with Clyne and Townrow for many hours over several days, with Townrow emphasizing to Qi that the software must be "a complete rebuild and not just a renovation or addition to the prototype which had been supplied to him."
Qi returned to China and within days assured Clyne he would get to work as soon as possible.
However, delays followed and in early 2012, Qi raised a concern with Clyne that he might not get paid in a timely fashion.
In February 2012, Dong told Clyne that Qi had asked him to discuss payment and thought $16,000 would be appropriate. Clyne agreed to the payment, and in March 2012, also reached a verbal agreement that would see Dong become the project manager and ensure Qi complete the software in a timely fashion.
Dong also agreed to create a summer course at UNBC to test the software, integrate it into the finance curriculum and prepare marketing materials for the product.
An online self-study course was established in April but only one student enrolled, with Clyne paying the tuition. Throughout the summer, the student tried to find out on several occasions when the software would be ready for testing but it was never made available to him.
Nonetheless, the student received an "excellent grade" for the course, Brecknell said. "although he had, up to that point, not done any work."
Delays on getting the software completed continued and when in September 2012 Clyne finally received what had been developed, it was substandard in several areas. By the time Clyne ended the relationship, Qi had been working on the project for two years but had still not completed the work.
Moreover, Clyne had spent more on the project than it was initially estimated to cost and the total price to complete the work was quadruple the original number Dong gave to Clyne.
Brecknell said Dong "breached more than a condition of the contract. His breach went to the heart of what the contract was about, and, as such, was fundamental."
As such, Brecknell ruled Clyne did not have to pay Dong the $11,760 and moreover, Dong had to refund Clyne $6,720, as well as the tuition fee for the course, court filing fees and interest, for a total of $7,785.
However, Brecknell dismissed Clyne's claims for the amounts he paid to Qi, concluding he could have demanded to see the work before paying him.
Dong no longer works at UNBC, the university's communication manager, Matt Wood, said Friday.
