Quebec man loses legal bid to win boat in Tim Hortons contest

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No “roll up the rim to win” here, sadly.

Or so says Quebec’s Court of Appeal, which has sided with Tim Hortons after a customer sued the coffee company when they mistakenly sent him — and almost a half-million other Canadians — an e-mail saying he’d won a boat valued at nearly $70,000, reports CTV News.

Two years ago, Jonathan Deschâtelets played the Roll Up The Rim contest and won a three-month subscription to The Athletic, three coffees, and two prizes totalling 160 Tims points.

But after the contest ended, he also got an April 17, 2024 e-mail from Tim’s saying he’d won a boat worth an estimated $68,751 but while on hold with a company representative got another e-mail saying the previous message was sent in error to nearly a half-million Canadians and to disregard it.

The second e-mail led to Deschâtelets filing a class-action lawsuit that argued that, by sending it, Tim Hortons was bound by its statement that the recipients won the boat under provisions of Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act.

He had been seeking compensatory damages “for the excitement, stress, and disappointment caused by Tim Hortons’ negligent conduct,” equal to the boat’s value, and another $10,000 in punitive damages, according to the court filing, per CTV News.

Lawsuit previously approved by Superior Court

The class-action suit was partially authorized in June 2025 by a Superior Court judge on behalf of all Quebec consumers who were part of the contest and received the erroneous email.

But Quebec’s Court of Appeal — its highest court — ruled on Tim Hortons’ appeal last Friday that Deschâtelets had no reasonable expectation of being awarded the boat since when he “rolled back the rim to win,” 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, setting aside the Superior Court’s judgment to authorize the class-action lawsuit.

Deschâtelets’ lawyer, Joey Zukran, told CTV News he’s still looking at 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.”

The boat was a Tracker Targa 18 WT boat with a 200-horsepower engine.

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