Quebec’s Court of Appeal has dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Tim Hortons, ruling that an erroneous email sent in April 2024 mistakenly promising a nearly $70,000 Tracker Targa boat package does not legally entitle a customer to a prize he never won during the coffee chain’s Roll Up to Win contest.
Jonathan Deschâtelets found himself at the center of a legal battle after a post-contest notification email promised him a boat package featuring a 200-horsepower Mercury motor and a trailer, valued at approximately $68,751, according to court documents cited by the Montreal Gazette. The Montreal Gazette reported that Deschâtelets had originally played the popular mobile app contest 24 times during the spring 2024 event, winning three coffees, a three-month subscription to The Athletic, and two prizes totaling 160 Tims reward points.
The controversy began on April 17, 2024—five days after the official April 12 deadline to reveal rolls—when Tim Hortons distributed a prize summary email to nearly 500,000 customers across Canada. That digital transmission included the incorrect claim that Deschâtelets had secured the Tracker Targa 18 WT boat. As Deschâtelets attempted to contact customer service for confirmation, the corporation dispatched a corrective follow-up warning recipients that the earlier summary contained errors and should be ignored, as detailed by CTV News.
The Legal Battle Through Quebec Courts
Dissatisfied with the retraction, Deschâtelets pursued legal action seeking either the delivery of the boat, its monetary equivalent, or compensation for stress and disappointment. He also sought punitive damages of roughly $10,000 for each member of a proposed class action covering affected Quebec consumers. In June 2025, Quebec’s Superior Court partially authorized the class-action suit on behalf of all provincial participants who received the mistaken email.
Tim Hortons appealed the decision, leading to last Friday’s ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal. The appellate court overturned the lower-court judgment, establishing that the erroneous notification arrived after the contest had concluded and did not constitute a contractual or pre-contractual statement under Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act. The court noted that a merchant is bound strictly by statements made before or during the formation of a contract, not by mistakes communicated afterward.
| Contest Detail | Fact / Figure |
|---|---|
| Contest Name | Tim Hortons Roll Up to Win (Spring 2024) |
| Disputed Prize | Tracker Targa 18 WT boat with 200-HP Mercury motor and trailer |
| Estimated Prize Value | $68,751 CAD |
| Erroneous Email Date | April 17, 2024 |
| Reach of Erroneous Email | Nearly 500,000 customers across Canada |
Appellate Reasoning and Industry Concerns
Writing for the higher court, the judges emphasized that Deschâtelets held no reasonable expectation to claim a prize he had never actually uncovered on his app tabs. One fact remains indisputable: the respondent never won the boat during the contest,
the court stated, adding that he failed to establish even the mere possibility of prevailing on the merits.
Joey Zukran, the lawyer representing Deschâtelets, pointed to broader regulatory gaps following the decision. Speaking to CTV News on Sunday, Zukran highlighted that promotional contests in Quebec operate without specific legislative oversight, leaving merchants to self-regulate. 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,
Zukran told CTV News.
With the Court of Appeal granting Tim Hortons’ motion to set aside the Superior Court’s judgment, the class action stands denied, bringing an end to the multi-year legal pursuit over the unawarded maritime prize.
