As you may remember, Holiday Tree Services, Inc. (HTS) has recently entered into a contract with Delish Burger (Delish), whereby HTS is to supply and decorate a Christmas tree in each of Delish Burger's one hundred and thirty-seven fast food restaurants in Gould each year in December. The first year of the contract was 2019.

You undoubtedly remember the December 6, 2019's disaster. Oryhat day one of the Christmas trees that we had delivered and decorated in early December to one of Delish Burger's restaurants in Lakeview, Gould caught on fire. The fire then severely damaged the restaurant's premises, including the kitchen and dining areas. Earlier today, I received an angry call from Duran Austin, the president of Delish, updating me on the recent calculations of losses from the disaster.

Our records indicate that the Christmas tree was delivered to Delish Burger's Lakeview site on time and in good order on the morning of Friday, December 6th, 2019. As the manager on site requested our delivery crew, they placed the tree inside the restaurant in an area next to the ordering counter. The crew then spent the next two hours, as they routinely do, decorating the tree to the satisfaction of the on-site manager, Leon Grant. Mr. Grant then initialed the receipt provided to him by our delivery crew, acknowledging receipt and full satisfaction with the decorated tree. Mr. Grant then fully paid for the tree and the services with a company check.

The fire broke out inside the Lakeview restaurant just as the last employee was leaving at approximately

11:37 p.m. on December 2nd. Fortunately, there were no customers in the restaurant at that time as the store generally closes at 11:00 p.m. on weekdays. Mr. Austin indicated to me during the phone conversation that a report he received yesterday from the local fire department tentatively concluded that the fire originated from the Christmas tree. He went on to say that the report indicates that the lights on the tree required too much power for the one outlet they were plugged into, causing an electrical short.

The spark from this instantly ignited the tree. The employee, who had been about to unplug the tree and turn off the lights in the restaurant, was so shocked that he instantly ran out of the restaurant. He then searched for a phone to call the fire department (in his haste he had left his cell phone inside). It took a few minutes to find a phone, giving the fire a chance to spread. Mr. Austin also said that as a result of the fire, the restaurant has been completely shut down for the past three months and that he does not expect the restaurant to be open for at least another three months pending complete renovation of the damaged areas.

Mr. Austin then demanded compensation for the losses that Delish's restaurant sustained as a result of the fire. He faxed me a copy of the construction bid Delish's restaurant accepted to reconstruct the premises, which came out to $575,000. In addition to the reconstruction costs, he also demandscompensation for the potential profits the restaurant could have generated during the downtime. I am attaching the documents I asked him to fax me, which include some of Delish Burger's financial data regarding revenues and expenses during 2018 and 2019.

I told Mr. Austin that I sympathize with the lost profits sustained by Lakeview Delish Burger, but that according to our agreement, Delish Burger agreed to waive all claims against us for any consequential damages. After he quickly looked at the Purchase Order Acknowledgment, he said that while there was such a clause in the document, it was not part of the contract since Delish Burger never agreed to it or signed it. I replied that I would look it over and get back to him soon.

TranscribedText

Week of 3-Dec-18 Expenses Revenues Profit 134,009 159,293 25,284 10-Dec-18 129,459 170,347 40,888 17-Dec-18 123,417 179,157 55,740 24-Dec-18 130,984 148,844 17,860 31-Dec-18 133,557 156,753 23,196 7-Jan-19 123,326 236,759 113,433 14-Jan-19 125,005 179,378 54,373 21-Jan-19 126,117 136,068 9,951 28-Jan-19 127,135 153,149 26,014 4-Feb-19 138,210 205,056 66,846 11-Feb-19 119,999 189,391 69,392 18-Feb-19 116,900 168,685 51,785 25-Feb-19 130,710 169,835 39,125 4-Mar-19 129,051 111,664 (17,387) 11-Mar-19 128,222 163,792 35,570 18-Mar-19 130,355 147,152 16,797 25-Mar-19 130,008 165,372 35,364 1-Apr-19 137,190 149,127 11,937 8-Apr-19 120,606 189,108 68,502 15-Apr-19 134,120 197,547 63,427 22-Apr-19 137,532 89,210 (48,322) 29-Apr-19 128,094 164,431 36,337 6-May-19 126,716 126,100 (616) 13-May-19 133,240 157,755 24,515 20-May-19 136,884 178,196 41,312 27-May-19 129,532 198,366 68,834 3-Jun-19 131,561 199,122 67,561 10-Jun-19 129,644 177,117 47,473 17-Jun-19 125,068 131,316 6,248 24-Jun-19 131,141 202,976 71,835 1-Jul-19 129,271 163,237 33,966 8-Jul-19 124,198 201,371 77,173 15-Jul-19 136,960 166,971 30,011 22-Jul-19 116,866 151,769 34,903 29-Jul-19 118,634 219,231 100,597 5-Aug-19 136,078 193,318 57,240 12-Aug-19 121,181 184,193 63,012 19-Aug-19 132,969 184,443 51,474 26-Aug-19 135,147 138,956 3,809 2-Sep-19 127,170 220,126 92,956 9-Sep-19 127,095 164,771 37,676 16-Sep-19 140,442 201,146 60,704 23-Sep-19 131,863 211,349 79,486 30-Sep-19 125,512 180,259 54,747 7-Oct-19 121,284 206,296 85,012 14-Oct-19 130,295 175,715 45,420 21-Oct-19 127,239 145,912 18,673 28-Oct-19 133,881 154,575 20,694 4-Nov-19 130,129 184,311 54,182 11-Nov-19 132,919 209,435 76,516 18-Nov-19 133,059 182,294 49,235 25-Nov-19 137,554 173,040 35,486