HAMILTON, Ont. – A class-action lawsuit over how Tim Hortons
makes it doughnuts and how much they really cost is before an Ontario court.
Arch and Anne Jollymore, who own franchises in Burlington,
Ont., are seeking to certify a $1.95 billion suit.
Arch Jollymore is a former Tim Hortons’ senior manager and
the cousin of Ron Joyce, the company’s co-founder who sold the firm to Wendy’s
International in 1995.
The court action launched three years ago centres on a
decision to stop baking doughnuts at its stores, and to instead bake them a
Brantford, Ont., plant and ship the frozen product to stores across Canada.
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The conversion was called “Always Fresh”.
The couple says management said the cost of the doughnuts
would be about 11 or 12 cents, but when the doughnuts arrived the cost actually
was about 18 cents each.
The Brantford factory also bakes Timbits and other goods for
the company.
The couple is seeking damages on behalf of a proposed class
that could include between 500 and 800 store owners.
In court, the couple’s lawyer said store owners are required
to buy from the Brantford plant and that the owners of the factory charge a
markup on doughnuts which is not “commercially reasonable.”
In a written submission, Tim Hortons’ lawyers dismissed the
couple’s allegations on the cost of the doughnuts, saying the “approach to
costs makes no sense.”
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