Turning a loss into a win.

I remember the morning well: my mother had asked me to bring in the mail, and as I was sorting through it, a bright envelope with the sentence, "You Are A Grande Prize Winner" caught my attention. My heart leapt; my family just won an astronomical amount of money! When I showed the envelope to my mother, she shrugged, rolled her eyes, told me it was a scam, and explained to me how it worked. I recall being really shocked. How were companies allowed to do that to unsuspecting consumers? It simply wasn't right!

It turns out I am not alone in my feelings. A recent 2012 Supreme Court of Canada case dealt with exactly this issue (Richard v. Time Inc., 2012 SCC 8 (CanLII)). Mr. Richards, a resident of Quebec, received an "Official Sweepstakes Notification" in his mailbox from a company called T and TCM. Written in English, the envelope suggested that Mr. Richards had won a cash prize of $833,337 U.S. dollars. In order to claim the prize, the mailing indicated that the Grand Prize entry had to be returned by a specific date, and if Mr. Richards returned the envelope within five days, he would also qualify for a bonus $100,000 U.S. dollar prize.

Along with the promises of money was some information: that the winning number had already been selected, and that the holder of that number would receive the Grand Prize by returning the reply coupon by the deadline. Additionally, if Mr. Richards did not return the reply coupon, the Grand Prize winner would be selected randomly among the eligible entries, and the odds of winning would be 1 in 120 million.

Mr. Richards immediately returned the reply coupon, believing he had won the $833,337 dollars. He also bought a subscription to Time magazine, which was recommended. Mr. Richards received his monthly magazines, but the cheque with his Grand Prize failed to arrive. After contacting T and TCM, Mr. Richards was informed that he had not won any money and worse; he had only been invited to enter a sweepstakes.

In response to receiving no cheque, Mr. Richards filed a motion with the Quebec Superior Court to declare him the winner of the cash prize and to order T and TCM to pay compensatory and punitive damages matching the promised amount. The Superior Court judgment granted Mr. Richard's action in part. The Court found that the letter breached Title II of the Consumer Protection Act of Quebec on prohibited business practice and that the authorized sanctions within the Act were applicable. Mr. Richards was...