Tim Hortons says the case is closed.

The iconic Canadian coffee and doughnut chain has decided that a 10-year-old girl in Montreal who won a car last month in its "Roll up the Rim" contest is the rightful owner, even though she got help from a friend.

"All the rules and regulations were followed," said Diane Slopek-Weber, Tim Hortons director of corporate communications.




"The little girl's parents will get the car."

The trouble began brewing on March 6 when the 10-year-old girl found a Tim Hortons coffee cup in a garbage can in her school.

Asked for help

She enlisted the help of a 12-year-old girl to roll up the cup's rim.

They discovered the cup had earned a prize of a Toyota RAV 4.

The girls' families have been bickering ever since over who should get the vehicle and whether the second girl should be entitled to a half share of the prize.

The case became even more complicated when a school custodian came forward saying he was the one who threw away the cup in the first place.

But, Tim Hortons says it has decided that the proper thing to do is to give the prize to the 10-year-old girl's family.