Quebec’s highest court has ruled in favour of Tim Hortons after a man sued the coffee chain for mistakenly sending him an email saying he had won a boat worth nearly $70,000.
Jonathan Deschâtelets played the “Roll Up The Rim” contest two years ago and won multiple instant prizes, including a three-month subscription to The Athletic magazine, three coffees, and two prizes totaling 160 Tims points.
After the contest had ended, he received an email from Tim Hortons on April 17, 2024, telling him that he had won a Tracker Targa 18 WT boat with a 200-horsepower engine, valued at an estimated $68,751.
While on hold with a Tim Hortons representative, he received a subsequent email saying the previous message, which went out to nearly half a million Canadians, contained errors and to disregard it.
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Deschâtelets filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, arguing that, by sending the email, Tim Hortons was bound by its statement that the recipients won the boat, citing provisions of Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act. He sought compensatory damages “for the excitement, stress, and disappointment caused by Tim Hortons’ negligent conduct,” equivalent to the value of the boat, according to the court filing. He also sought $10,000 in punitive damages.
A Superior Court judge partially authorized the class-action suit in June 2025 on behalf of all Quebec consumers who participated in the contest and received the erroneous email.
‘The respondent never won the boat’
However, after Tim Hortons filed an appeal, Quebec’s Court of Appeal ruled last Friday that the lower court judge erred by concluding that Tim Hortons’ email was not a contractual or pre-contractual statement within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act.
The appeal court ruling said that Deschâtelets had no reasonable expectation to be awarded the boat since when he peeled back the tabs, it was never mentioned.
“One fact remains indisputable: the respondent never won the boat during the contest. The facts found to be established show that he peeled back 24 tabs and won 6 instant prizes. He never peeled back a tab indicating that he was the winner of a boat,” the court said.
“I find it difficult to see how, in this context, he can demand delivery of a boat that, according to the established facts, he never won ... He therefore fails to establish even the mere possibility of prevailing on the merits and to meet his burden of proof.”
The Court of Appeal granted Tim Hortons’ appeal, set aside the Superior Court’s judgment, and denied the motion to authorize the class-action lawsuit.
Deschâtelets’s lawyer, Joey Zukran, told CTV News he is still reviewing the court’s ruling.
“The reality is that Tim Hortons once again erroneously announced to their customers that they won prizes, only to disappoint them shortly thereafter,” he said on Sunday.
“And this is also the more problematic in the province of Quebec where such contests aren’t governed by any legislation and merchants are left to self regulate, which can create serious abuses and unfairness for the consumer.”
