Introduction:

Mark is a senior software engineer at a video game design company based in Vancouver, B.C. The company, DigiPlay (DP), is very successful with numerous popular titles and services. Over the last few years, its growth strategy has shifted to a service model rather than relying on titles. DP's head office is in Vancouver and has offices and development campuses globally.

Mark has a Master of Science degree from UBC. He has worked at DP since he graduated from the UBC program eight years ago. He received a work experience opportunity while in the MSc program and was offered a position after graduation. DP is a good company to work for. It pays well and has many perks, including stock options, education opportunities, and progressive leave arrangements. Mark has done very well at the company, has always received glowing performance reviews, and now manages a team of five engineers.

Part A

Problem 1: Mark recently moved into a new condo in Vancouver. He hired a moving company to move his belongings. Unfortunately, during transport, some of his belongings were substantially damaged. Included in the damaged property were some antique pieces of furniture and art that Mark's grandmother had left him when she passed away.The moving company was not accepting responsibility and said the property was damaged before the move. Mark wants to sue the moving company for the damage to his property and seek compensation. He estimates that the damage has resulted in approximately a loss of $35,000 - $40,000.

Mark is good friends with Katie, a lawyer in DP's legal department. Mark does not want to pay for a lawyer and will handle the lawsuit himself. Even though Katie specializes in intellectual property law, she agreed to try and answer Mark's questions about the legal process. Over lunch, Mark asks for advice on the following question.

1. In what court should Mark file the lawsuit? What are the pros and cons of each court?
2. How does he start a lawsuit? What documents are required, and what information is needed for the document?
3. After he starts the lawsuit, what is the next step he must take?
4. What are his obligations concerning document disclosure?

Problem 6:After the data breach debacle, DP was looking to improve its security and data protection abilities. One way they decided to do it was to buy another company.The company is a Texas-based software firm that specializes in gaming security. Secure Tech had developed new encryption software that was intended for gaming platforms. They also had some of the best programmers specializing in security, and DP wanted to bring the talent into the company.

Mark was part of the team that went to Texas to meet and begin negotiations. Mark had great people skills, and the executive team asked him to come along. The DP team toured the Secure Tech facility, observed the engineers at work, and had great dinners with Secure Tech representatives. Near the end of the trip, negotiations started. During a dinner, the CEO of DP asked the CTO of Secure Tech about a particular piece of code and whether it was patented. The code was an essential piece of Secure Tech's encryption software. The CTO answered, "yes, we just received patent approval last week."

The CEO of DP wanted the deal done fast. The class-action hurt DP and the acquisition's completion would restore investor confidence. He wanted to announce the deal as soon as possible and close before year-end. Because of the rush, the contracts were sloppy, and the due diligence was minimal.

After the deal was completed, Katie noticed that Secure Tech did not actually have a patent for the code. The CTO had mixed up the code that the CEO had asked about with another patent that Secure Tech had obtained. After the acquisition, the patent application for the code was rejected due to a technicality. Shortly after, another company was able to secure a patent for a similar code.

The CEO of DP is very upset. He would not have paid such a high price for Secure Tech if he knew there was no patent. He wants to sue the former CTO of Secure Tech for the loss. Katie is tasked with providing an opinion on DP's legal options.

Using the IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) method, analyze the options available to DP. Include at least one case from BC or another Canadian jurisdiction that states the law applicable to this problem in your analysis.

Problem 11:Mark has obtained investment financing from an angel investor syndicate based in Washington State. The investors see significant potential in the code he has developed. Mark is expanding operations and hiring for several new positions using the funds.

Penny has applied for a software engineer position. She is in the second round of interviews and is meeting with Mark and an HR manager. They are interviewing Zoom because of a global pandemic, and they cannot work in the office at the moment. Fortunately, the government of BC has said that businesses can remain open as long as proper workplace health and safety measures are taken. During her interview with Mark and the manager, Penny mentioned that she would need to work from home for the foreseeable future. She tells them that she had a kidney transplant five years ago and because of the anti-rejection medication she takes, her doctor has advised that she work at home until there are zero cases in BC or BC has reached herd immunity from vaccines. Because of her anti-rejection mediation, the vaccine will not work to protect her from Covid-19. Mark says, "well, we need people who can work on-site. I just don't see how this could work."

After the interview, Mark tells the HR manager not to make an offer to Penny. He says that they need someone on site. The HR manager is immediately concerned about discrimination and the company's human right obligations. She asks Mark why working on-site is a requirement.Mark says, "that's just the way we do things. We do so much work in teams, and I don't want to be Zoom calling all the time." Despite her concerns, the HR manager sends Penny a letter thanking her for her time and indicating she will not be getting an offer of employment from the company.

One month later, Vision Works is notified that Penny has filed a discrimination complaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal. Her claim is based on discrimination related to her disability and Vision Works' failure to accommodate. She is claiming monetary damages for injury to dignity. Mark realizes that he should have listened to the HR manager. Mark hires a human rights lawyer to respond to the complaint and give an opinion.

1. Using the IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) method, analyze Penny's discrimination claim. Reference the applicable provisions of theHuman Rights Code.
2. Mark wants to know how much money Penny could be awarded for injury to dignity. Using CanLII and/or Quicklaw, research damages the Human Rights Tribunal awards for injury to dignity. Look for cases similar in fact to Penny's claim. Using the cases, provide a range of damages that the Human Rights Tribunal could award.