Two business acquaintances, Susan Gray and Ren LeClerc, meet downtown near the courthouse and decide to catch up on their news. Both are in the food and beverage industrySusan Gray owns and operates a restaurant in an older part of the city, in a large 80-year-old former home. Ren LeClerc has purchased a coffee and tea franchise from a major franchisor and operates the franchise at a busy Main Street location.

Both business people are involved in serious disputes. Gray has just attended an Examination for Discovery with her lawyer. Gray is plaintiff in an action against the construction company she hired to repair and renovate the large veranda attached to the building that houses her restaurant. Gray hopes to be able to expand restaurant seating into this additional area. Gray alleges that the work was done improperly and she is now faced with considerable structural and water damage, and her restaurant business is being disrupted. Estimates to undo and redo the construction and renovation exceed $100,000. The Statement of Claim includes a claim for damages for loss of business income. Gray has been required to pay her lawyer a retainer for his fees; she wonders when her case will go to trial, and if she wins her case at trial, then how much will she recover from the defendant. Gray, through her lawyer, filed her Statement of Claim more than eight months ago.

LeClerc will be meeting his lawyer to attend a mediation hearing with a mediator who is qualified under the province's ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Institute. LeClerc alleges that the beverage franchise company has breached its franchise agreement with him in that it has sold another franchise to a business that will open up in competition with LeClerc one block away from his location. LeClerc purchased his beverage franchise three years ago, and the contract includes a clause that states, "All disputes arising out of or in connection with this franchise agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be mediated by a mediator appointed pursuant to the Mediation Rules of the ADR Institute. Disputes remaining unsettled after mediation will be arbitrated and finally resolved pursuant to the Arbitration Rules of the Institute."LeClerc feels that he needs a lawyer to represent him at the mediation hearing. He hopes that the mediator will be able to recommend a settlement acceptable to both him and the franchisor, and that the matter does not have to go to arbitration.

Gray and LeClerc wonder who is better offthe litigant in a civil action, or a person involved in a contract dispute where alternative dispute resolution is a term of the contract.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of litigation and ADR in the context of Gray's and LeClerc's situations.(In other words, do not just cite the general pros and cons of litigation and ADR but, instead, apply them to the facts of this case.) (A 3-step legal analysis is not required.)

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