Roll Up The Rim To Sue

March 11, 2006 1:10 PM

Tim Hortons is once more running it's Roll Up The Rim To Win contest where each cup of coffee is a potential prize winner. This week controversy hit when a 10 year old found a cup in the trash. Unable to roll the rim she asked a 12 year old friend for help and they discovered the cup was a winner. Now comes the dispute over who actually won [quicktime] the SUV. An added twist is the man demanding a DNA test to prove the cup is his. I love the smell of lawsuits in the morning.
posted by cm (55 comments total)

Marilou should get it, end of story.
posted by banished at 1:18 PM on March 11, 2006

How pathetic of the 12-year-old's family to demand anything.
posted by jayder at 1:26 PM on March 11, 2006

Where is King Solomon when you need him?
posted by phyrewerx at 1:30 PM on March 11, 2006

I can understand the girls and their families squabbling -- kind of -- but that whiner who has engaged a lawyer saying that he wants a DNA test takes the cake.
posted by rosemere at 1:31 PM on March 11, 2006

What happened to the stereotype of polite Canadians?
posted by gyc at 1:38 PM on March 11, 2006

Only when dealing with outsiders.

But when it comes to fighting over a free SUV, IT'S ON, BITCH!!!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:41 PM on March 11, 2006

If one of the contest rules is NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, I don't see how the man can claim that he has any legal right to the prize.
posted by Chasuk at 1:56 PM on March 11, 2006

He also voluntarily threw the cup away; once it (voluntarily) passed out of his possession, he lost any chance to win, IMO.
posted by Malor at 1:58 PM on March 11, 2006

Technically, the cup is the property of the school, having been taken from their garbage, and the prize is rightfully theirs. At least, that is my understanding of the legal status of garbage in Canada - that it belongs to the property owner who is storing it. I wonder if they're gonna get in on this action.
posted by mek at 2:06 PM on March 11, 2006

Marilou says, "Haro, Haro, Haro!!!"
posted by pkingdesign at 2:08 PM on March 11, 2006

Well, the school seems to have abdicated their claim by giving the cup to Marilou and her parents that first day, so I doubt they'll attempt any legal action.
posted by rosemere at 2:11 PM on March 11, 2006

The original owner has no claim, he threw it out and made no attempt to reclaim it.

The 12 year old who opened it was merely assisting someone in a manual task, and has no claim to ownership.

The 10 year old who had more foresight and motivation to recognize the cup for what it was should be the winner, or their family.

The school should not own it; although there may be some legal precedent over garbage, we don't go around throwing everyone who takes somehting out of the trash in jail for theft.
posted by TravellingDen at 2:11 PM on March 11, 2006

Yup, I say the 10 year old should get it.

DELMOI HAS SPOKEN, AND THUS THE MATTER IS DECIDED.
posted by delmoi at 2:16 PM on March 11, 2006

What happened to the stereotype of polite Canadians?

Its Quebec, they're only Canadians when its convenient for them to be!

I shall run away now...
posted by jeffmik at 2:20 PM on March 11, 2006

I agree that the 10-year-old is probably the rightful winner, but shit, why be that greedy? Couldn't they sell the SUV and give each family half? I'm sure they'd both be much happier, and wouldn't have any legal bills to pay.
posted by Jimbob at 2:25 PM on March 11, 2006

Well, I didn't include it but here is your daily dose of stereotypically of polite Canadians.
posted by cm at 2:27 PM on March 11, 2006

This reminds me somehow of kids sports. Especially little league baseball.
posted by martinX's bellbottoms at 2:31 PM on March 11, 2006

I thought these acts of ridiculous obnoxiousness were reserved for the good old US of A.
posted by subaruwrx at 2:32 PM on March 11, 2006

I cannot believe this. First there's a post about the Canadian Tire couple, chock full of obscure Canadiana, now a post featuring Roll up the Rim at Tim Horton's? Faaaantastic!

By the way, there has been controversy about ownership of Tim Horton's cups before. Can't find the link, but a guy bought coffee for workmates, one of the cups won a car, and the buyer claimed it was his, not the drinkers'. IIRC, the courts ruled (rightly) that it belonged to the drinker. In this case, ownership looks like it never transferred between the first girl and the second, so it should be the 10 year old's. If I ask you to count my cash, you don't get to keep it.
posted by loquax at 2:41 PM on March 11, 2006

Its too bad that it isn't a bigger controversy for Time Horton's that nothing is cooked in their stores anymore - its all "par baked" and then trucked from a central distribution point to be reheated at each location.

Its terrible quality and tasting fast food thats marketed as fresh and home made.
posted by jeffmik at 2:43 PM on March 11, 2006

jeffmik, as opposed to the local hip coffee joint that buys their bagels at the same grocery store I do and adds a nice little 1000% markup?
posted by Space Coyote at 2:53 PM on March 11, 2006

Don't underestimate how strongly many people feel about Timmy's! Here's a Tim Horton's Tattoo I recently posted to one of my blogs (not a tattoo on me).
posted by glider at 3:04 PM on March 11, 2006

At the risk of being deported, I don't like Tim Horton's coffee and Robin's makes better donuts.

Tim Horton's puts an addictive chemical in their donuts and coffee to make you crave them, a plot by right-wingers to make Canadians so fat and sleep-deprived that the Canada Health Act is unsustainable.

Source: I just made it up
posted by Deep Dish at 3:10 PM on March 11, 2006

Fuck Tim Horton's! They rolled down here and took over Bess Eaton, wiped all the bible quotes off the cups, and started making sandwiches! Sandwiches in a doughnut shop? What the fuck are they putting in the water up there?

On top of all that, where the hell am I supposed to get my Testamints now, huh?
posted by SweetJesus at 3:29 PM on March 11, 2006

This sums up Tim Horton quite nicely, in my opinion.
posted by jeffmik at 3:39 PM on March 11, 2006

Bleah on the haters. Timmy's coffee is nearly perfectly suited to swilling by the liter. And the food, irrespective of where it is cooked or how good it used to be, beats the crap out of McDonald's.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:44 PM on March 11, 2006

Hey, I think I threw away one of those cups last week. If anyone at my office wins something, I'm calling my lawyer.
posted by Zetetics at 3:45 PM on March 11, 2006

For some reason, the Maritimes Tim shops know how to make awesome brewed tea. I have to ask for triple milk to nudge it back to liquidity, but it's good stuff.

But when they introduced brewed tea to the rest of Canada a while back, they just couldn't get it right. The stuff is almost invariably burnt, cold, or awful in some nameless way. I think it's all part of a plot to encourage Atlantic tourism. Clever bastards.
posted by rosemere at 3:46 PM on March 11, 2006

I just wish they made the fritters the way they used to, none of theis square jelly donut bullcrap.
posted by Space Coyote at 4:26 PM on March 11, 2006

what a bunch of donut-eating shitheads.
posted by wakko at 5:00 PM on March 11, 2006

Its kind of ironic that most contests in Canada (or American contests that include Canadians) aren't valid in Quebec because of legal headaches or the Quebec lottery commission. Based on that, I don't think any of them should win it. Besides , all I seem to get from a Tim's rim is a "please try again" just throw me a free coffee or a donut.
posted by phirleh at 5:02 PM on March 11, 2006

...and it's for, what, C$28,600 or something? What is that, like US$5.20 or so?

(*ducks*)
posted by aberrant at 5:08 PM on March 11, 2006

aberrant, thanks to your president's fine fiscal policies the CDN dollar is kicking ass of late. Y'all need to update your jokes.

Also: Trudeau isn't prime minister anymore.
posted by Space Coyote at 5:14 PM on March 11, 2006

the man [is] demanding a DNA test to prove the cup is his.

They put DNA in the coffee in Canada?
posted by LeLiLo at 5:28 PM on March 11, 2006

Sweet Jesus, you can get your Testamints here. Lots of other good "-mints" (like Impeachmints, Embarrassmints) there, my favorite Calvin and Hobbes t-shirt of all time, *and* Nietzche's Will-to-Power Bar - the official nutritional supplement of the Superman! Chocolatey Goodnes!
posted by tzikeh at 5:35 PM on March 11, 2006

There's a really inappropriate joke in here somewhere about a 10 year old and Tim Horton's rim.
posted by ddf at 6:01 PM on March 11, 2006

i heart idiot consumer culture.
posted by Doorstop at 7:54 PM on March 11, 2006

As an American, Tim Horton's in inexplicable to me. I was frequently in Toronto for work a few years ago, and it is the only time I've ever seen a fast food drive-up clog traffic.

Maybe it happens all over up there. I used to drive by a Tim's on Sheppard East, just east of the Don Valley Parkway/404. In spite of there being room to stack up ~10 or so cars in the shop's drive through lane, there would still frequently be two or three cars stacked up out in the right-most traffic lane on Sheppard, taking that lane out of action for "real" traffic.
posted by hwestiii at 8:54 PM on March 11, 2006

it is the only time I've ever seen a fast food drive-up clog traffic

When I was in Mountain View, CA on a business trip, I saw huge line-ups at In & Out, and people sitting down at Krispy Kreme alone in front of a dozen box and plowing into them like half price day at the crack house.

Nonetheless, TH wins the drive-through congestion prize. Funny how none of the competitors manage to make a substantial dent in their business, even though the doughnuts kinda suck.
posted by CynicalKnight at 9:23 PM on March 11, 2006

The drive through traffic jam thing is an Ontario phenomenon I think. Or at least I've never seen it ouside of Ontario.

As for donut taste. I'd say Tim Hortens has better donuts than Dunking Donuts but worse than Krispy Kreme. Despite all that Krispy Kreme isn't doing so well up here in the frozen north.
posted by cm at 9:33 PM on March 11, 2006

loquax - iirc the issue involved hockey parents - one dad brought coffee to the game, another dad won.
posted by magwich at 10:10 PM on March 11, 2006

Tim Hortens, at least in BC and Alberta, sucks donkey balls. Their donuts are shite, their counterpeople are rude or hostile, and their coffee tastes worse than Starbucks, and that's craptacularly bad. Tim's used to be good, but it has gone right to shit.

There is a donut place at the south end of, IIRC, Ded ReerRed Deer that is damn fine. Fresh-made daily, all day. Mmmmm.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:21 PM on March 11, 2006

iirc the issue involved hockey parents

The only people that make cavemen look positively sophisticated in their disputes.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:22 PM on March 11, 2006

My husband and I were on our way to Ottawa a few months ago, and spent the first night of our trip in Thousand Islands, Ontario. While I was getting ready to leave the next morning, the hub was fascinated with something out the window. He pointed out a long line of cars extending from out on the highway into a driveway next door, saying there'd been a line like that since he'd gotten up. The view was obscured by a wall and trees, so we didn't see until we were pulling out of the driveway that a Tim Horton's was the cause for the traffic jam. All that for donuts?
posted by Oriole Adams at 11:57 PM on March 11, 2006

It's telling how Tim Hortons -- note lack of apostrophe; fucking Wendys -- is seen in Ontario as such a perfectly Canadian institution when it's generally loathed everywhere except within spitting distance of the 401.
posted by docgonzo at 7:55 AM on March 12, 2006

FFF: LOL
posted by ParisParamus at 8:02 AM on March 12, 2006

I just want to thank cm for posting this. Primarily because the TH cite has a French version, and the legal disclaimer statement in French will help me recapture my legal French.

It looks like TH is more Dunkin Donuts than Starbucks.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:06 AM on March 12, 2006

PP, please do not bother addressing posts to me. You've burned that bridge and it will not be rebuilt.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:35 AM on March 12, 2006

The only thing that sucks worse than Tim Horton's coffee is their fucking commercials. They ruin a perfectly good hockey telecast.
posted by sharpener at 12:02 PM on March 12, 2006

There's drive through jams in Manitoba - Well, Winnipeg, at least - too.

I prefer Robin's Doughnuts myself. Not as greasy as the Hortons, and I don't feel like I'm being suckered by some BS faux-nationalist advertising.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:32 PM on March 12, 2006

Do they not have Dunkin Donuts in Canada? I don't find either the coffee or the donuts at Tim's to be to be all that special.
posted by hwestiii at 1:46 PM on March 12, 2006

hwestiii: Dunkin Donuts has been dying a slow death in Quebec. You wouldn't believe the number of Dunkin Donuts that have closed and reopened under non franchised names: Donut Donuts, Double Donuts and so on.
posted by cm at 3:24 PM on March 12, 2006

docgonzo :
So true...I was born and raised in SW B.C. (Vancouver area), and we only got Tim Horton's in the past 5 or 6 years. There was some old ones in the suburbs, but not enough for a LeftCoaster to identify it as Canadiana. (particularly since it is an American company).

Having said that, the thousands of Ontarian immigrants to Vancouver are always lined up like sheep at Tim Horton's in the morning, with their "centre of the universe" attitudes...

But, I digress....
posted by SSinVan at 5:51 PM on March 12, 2006

In my experience the people in Winnipeg can't negotiate a friggin' cross intersection. If there's a traffic jam at Tim's, it's only because they're being such assholes to one-another that they've managed to gridlock themselves. I swear to god handguns should be legalised for that city.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:29 PM on March 12, 2006

I think it's nice that they are giving away cars seeing as Tim Horton himself died in a car crash. Saying that, it's unfortunate that their best selling product is called Tim Bits.
posted by missbossy at 1:44 AM on March 13, 2006