Tim Hortons Mobile Application Privacy Class Action

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Quebec Superior Court file #:
500-06-001081-203

What this case was about:
On June 29, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced that several Privacy Commissioners across Canada, including la Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec (CAI) have launched a joint investigation into the Tim Hortons mobile application and how it may be collecting and using data about people’s movements as they go about their daily lives. The lead Plaintiff is a consumer who has been using the Tim Hortons and Burger King mobile application since 2019 and who was unaware that Tim Hortons (or its parent company Restaurant Brands International) was tracking his movements, even when the application was closed.

The Plaintiff claimed damages based on alleged breaches by Tim Hortons of the privacy rights of its customers who downloaded their mobile application. Tim Hortons denies these allegations. The parties have agreed to a national settlement of the claims, without any admission of liability. Copies of the settlement and notice to class members are accessible below.

Class authorized for settlement purposes:
All Canadian Resident users of the Tim Hortons® application with registered accounts in Canada whose geolocation information was collected by any of the Defendants between April 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020.

Terms of the Settlement:
Without any admission of liability, for the purpose of avoiding a trial and the additional costs and expenses related thereto, the Defendants agree to the following:

1. Provide each Eligible Member with one credit to be used to make a purchase of one free Hot Beverage and one free Baked Good from any participating Tim Hortons store within Canada in the form of a single, one-time use only, non-transferable, non-refundable and non-cash convertible credit, redeemable at check-out, whether with a coupon or using the Tim Hortons App (each, a “Credit”). “Baked Good” means a baked good that has a maximum retail value of $2.39 CAD plus taxes each, such as, by way of example, a croissant, a muffin, a cookie, a bun, a biscuit or a doughnut. “Hot Beverage” means a hot beverage that has a maximum retail value of $6.19 CAD plus taxes each, such as, by way of example, a brewed coffee, a hot latte, a hot cappuccino, a hot espresso, a hot cortado, a hot tea or a hot chocolate.

2. Each Credit will be deposited on the Tim Hortons App, and applied directly to each Eligible Members’ Account, where such Account is active at the time of the distribution of Credits. Once deposited in an Eligible Member’s Active Account, the Credit must be redeemed within twelve (12) months of its deposit, after which period the Credit will expire and be removed from the Eligible Members’ Accounts. If an Eligible Member with an Active Account fails to redeem the Credit during this initial period of twelve (12) months, such Eligible Member may, during a subsequent period of twelve (12) months, contact the Defendants’ guest services (contact information to be included in the Notice of Approval of the Transaction) and provide the email address linked to such Account. Upon validation that the claim is an original claim made by an Eligible Member, a Credit will be issued by email to such Eligible Member. Such a Credit will expire at a date twenty-four (24) months from its initial issuance.

3. Should an Eligible Member no longer have an Account on the App, a Credit may be issued to the email address on file. Where an Eligible Member no longer has an Account and does not receive an email with a Credit, such Eligible Member will be able to contact the Defendants’ guest services (contact information to be included in a subsequent notice). Upon validation that the claim is an original claim made by an Eligible Member, a Credit will be issued by email to such Eligible Member. In all cases, each Credit will expire twenty-four (24) months from its initial issuance.

4. Within ninety (90) days from the Settlement entering into effect, the Defendants shall take the appropriate measures to permanently delete any geolocation information about group members that may be in their possession and shall instruct its third-party vendor, Radar Labs Inc., to do the same.
Status:

By judgment rendered on June 15, 2022 (as rectified on July 4, 2022), the Court authorized the class action for settlement purposes. The hearing to approve the settlement will take place on September 6, 2022, at 9 a.m. in room 16.11 of the Montreal Courthouse, located at 1 Notre-Dame Street East in Montreal, Quebec. This hearing will also take place virtually by Teams.