Canadians who thought they had won a boat through Tim Hortons’ Roll Up to Win contest, only to be told it was a mistake will soon find out if a proposed class action lawsuit can proceed.
Montreal-based law firm LPC Avocats put forward the suit last year when the issue arose, saying the class action was to ask the court to order “specific performance, i.e., to force Tim Hortons to deliver the boats it informed customers they had won.”
An authorization hearing is set to take place Tuesday morning at the Montreal courthouse to determine if the proposed class action can proceed.
Last April, following the restaurant chain’s annual contest, customers who had the Tim Hortons app received an email recapping the prizes they’d won during the contest.
But some customers received an email that told them they won a fishing boat and trailer worth $55,000 as part of the contest. However, they were later informed the email was incorrect.
At the time, a Tim Hortons spokesperson confirmed to Global News that the emails were sent due to “human error.”
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“We developed a Roll Up To Win recap email message with the best intentions of giving our guests a fun overview of their 2024 play history,” Michael Oliveira, director of communications at Tim Hortons, said in an emailed response to Global News last year.
“Unfortunately, there was a human error that resulted in some guests receiving some incorrect information in their recap message.”
LPC Avocats in late April announced the proposed class action, which would ask for the delivery of the boats to those who were told they had won the vessel, damages in an amount to be determined, and punitive damages of $10,000 per class member.
“You owe them financial, either financial compensation, certainly punitive damages because you’re a repeat offender,” LPC Avocats founding attorney Joey Zukran told Global News last year.
“In this case, the specific performance of the obligation, which is the delivery of the boat. And that’s exactly what we’re asking the court to order.”
Zukran said this wasn’t the first time Tim Hortons has found itself in hot water recently, noting the company mistakenly told customers in 2023 in an email they had won a $10,000 American Express prepaid gift card for its promotion.
He added that his client who spurred the lawsuit wasn’t specifically interested in the money but in getting what he was told he won.
Tim Hortons, after the suit was put forward, said it believes the lawsuit has no merit and will address it through the court.
Global News reached out to the company for an updated comment as the authorization hearing was set to take place but did not hear back by publication.
— With files from The Canadian Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
