ASI seeks lawsuit in web battle

Tom Hall

The ASI Board of Directors voted unanimously to pursue legal action against Six-One-Nine Graphic Design in a closed session last week.

The reins of the process were handed to ASI Associate Director Randy Radcliff, who will consult an attorney to assess the feasibility and cost of a lawsuit against the estranged web designer.

Radcliff said he would first research the cost of legal consultation and present the findings to the Board for a vote. If the Board decides the price is too high, no legal action will be pursued.

If the Board decides the cost is not too high, Radcliff would consult the attorney about the likelihood of a lawsuit against Six-One-Nine succeeding. Radcliff would again request the Board to approve a lawsuit, based on the findings.

Radcliff said any lawsuit would seek the $5,000 down payment paid to Six-One-Nine last September.

“There was no product received,” Radcliff said. “They had seven months. Sonny (Ramsay) got something up in one and a half months.”

Ramsay, a Sacramento State student, was granted control of creating the new ASI Web site, which debuted March 17. Radcliff said Ramsay was expected to review and sign a $5,000 contract last Friday. Verification was not available at press time.

Six-One-Nine and ASI began their ill-fated partnership in September 2002. Six-One-Nine, a San Diego-based company that has done work for SeaWorld and the San Diego Community College District, signed a $10,000 contract to create a new Web site for ASI. An upfront deposit of $5,000 was paid to the company for “project engagement,” with the remaining $5,000 to be paid at project completion.

No dates for completion were illustrated in the contract, which was approved by the Board at their Oct.. 2 meeting.

Radcliff and ASI Executive Director Pat Worley were not happy with the effort Six-One-Nine gave, Worley said.

Worley had a conversation with Six-One-Nine owner Ron Kipnis in late February and expressed her displeasure with the company.

On March 10, Director of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Lorraine Armijos wrote a resolution terminating the agreement with Six-One-Nine and giving the project to Ramsay. The motion passed unanimously without debate.

ASI Postbaccalaureate Director Mohamed Hamada wrote the recent legislation seeking legal action against Six-One-Nine.

“This is the students” money we’re dealing with,” Hamada said.

Kipnis said Six-One-Nine plans to fight any legal action.

“We will definitely fight any lawsuit,” Kipnis said.

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