Tim Hortons Says There’s No Merit to Potential ‘Roll Up to Win’ Class Action Lawsuit

Signage for Tim Hortons' Roll Up the Rim contest is seen inside a Tim Hortons restaurant in Toronto, on March 6, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Cole Burston)

Tim Hortons says there’s no merit to a proposed class action lawsuit that intends to force it to deliver boats it erroneously informed customers they had won.

A Montreal law firm launched the proposed class action suit on behalf of its client against the coffee chain on April 19. The suit claims that Tim Hortons sent an email to about 500,000 customers on April 17 telling them they had won a boat and accompanying trailer as part of the company’s “Roll Up To Win” campaign.

LPC Avocat Inc. says in its application to the Superior Court of Quebec that the 2024 Tracker Targa 18 WT 2024 boat and its trailer are worth $64,000.00 inclusive of taxes.

The proposed lawsuit, which has yet to be certified, claims that the plaintiffs are owed the boat and trailer as well as punitive damages of $10,000 per class member. It also seeks damages in a yet-to-be determined amount “due to the excitement, stress and disappointment caused by Tim Hortons’ conduct and negligence.”

The application alleges that the coffeehouse violated Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act.

The act says when a merchant makes statements or publishes advertisements about its goods or services, “the statements or advertisements are binding on that merchant.”

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According to the application to the court, “The Tim Hortons mobile app or the Roll Up to Win promotion” would be examples of services.

Some customers have expressed their frustrations in the media after being informed by the restaurant chain that they had not won those prizes. As many as 2,500 people, as of April 21, have since joined a Facebook group that threatens to file lawsuits against the coffeehouse.

‘Human Error’

Tim Hortons’ apology came within hours after the April 17 email was sent. In its correction email, the company told customers that the “incorrect information” was sent due to “technical errors” and urged customers to “please disregard” the content of the earlier email, media outlets reported.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, Tim Hortons said the first email was sent through “human error,” and once the company became aware of the mistake it quickly notified the affected customers and apologized.

The company added that it believes the lawsuit has no merit and that it will address the matter through the court.

Meanwhile, the application filed by LPC Avocat Inc. pointed out that the Consumer Protection Act says a statement by the representative of a merchant about the merchant’s services is also “binding on that merchant.”

Therefore, the application says, this “prohibits a merchant from raising error as a means of defence, and under consumer law the risk of error is borne by the merchant.”

The application also claims that Tim Hortons is “a repeat offender,” stating that “a similar situation occurred last year where Tim Hortons refused to honour other Roll Up to Win prizes.”

In March 2023, some customers were told they won $10,000 playing Tim Hortons’ “Roll Up the Rim to Win” game and then found out the message was due to a technical error.

Tim Hortons offered $50 gift cards to those customers who were falsely notified they won. And it said the company was in the process of contacting individuals “to express our regret for the disappointment caused by this error.”

The Epoch Times reached out to Tim Hortons for comments but did not hear back by publication time.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.