Tim Hortons is now facing a class action lawsuit in Quebec over its Roll Up to Win promotion gone wrong.
The case stems from emails sent to thousands of participants in April 2024. Those emails told them they had won a boat and trailer worth $64,000.
However, just hours later, a second email followed. The company said there had been a “technical error” and the prize notification was incorrect.
On Friday, Superior Court Justice Donald Bisson authorized the class action. As a result, the lawsuit will proceed—but only for Quebec residents under the province’s consumer protection law.
Montreal law firm LPC Avocats is leading the case. Lawyer Joey Zukran said the court recognized the emotional impact on customers who believed they had genuinely won.
“They took the loyalty of their customers for granted,” Zukran said. “They laughed at them instead of offering even one free coffee.”
Moreover, he explained that the law holds merchants accountable for their mistakes—not the customers.
The lead plaintiff received the original email on April 17, 2024. It confirmed he had won a Tracker Targa 18 WT 2024 boat and trailer. Later that day, Tim Hortons sent another message, claiming a system glitch had caused the false notification.
Although Tim Hortons has apologized, it declined further comment due to ongoing litigation.
“We know that the millions of prizes won in the contest were distributed accurately,” said communications director Michael Oliveira in an email.
Justice Bisson emphasized that the promotion required a purchase to enter. Therefore, he said the email communication qualified as a consumer contract under Quebec law.
In addition, he noted that failing to correct the mistake—or provide an alternative prize—could undermine public trust in digital contests.
Zukran has three months to file a formal application to move the lawsuit forward. He expects the case could take years unless Tim Hortons agrees to settle.
While the total number of affected customers remains unclear, estimates suggest around 500,000 received the erroneous prize notification.
