[MultiColumnView] issues 90 and 180

This pull request addresses issues #90 and #180 concerning MultiColumnView.



Wrote or re-wrote unit tests (Y/N): **N**
 Ran entire suite of unit tests successfully (Y/N): **Y**
 Verified bug fix with the described replication steps or verified the implementation meets the requirement cited (Y/N): **Y**
 Code coverage requirements satisfied (new code=80%, changed code=at least as high as existing) (Y/N): **Y**
 Code review date and attendees: **code review via pull request**
 Describe potential impact on other areas of the code: **none**
 Describe any test prerequisites for this fix (e.g., restart the database): **none**
 For bugs marked "Regression - Yes", describe the cause of the regression: **N/A**
 Did you modify any pom.xml file? If yes, did you thoroughly document your changes and reasons? **N**