Arnold B. Schwisberg

Arnold’s practice was built from his focus on complex commercial litigation. His work has spanned judicial reviews of regulatory decisions, disputes between competitors, shareholder and partnership conflicts, and cases involving wrongful insurance denials and bad faith. He has handled employment matters on both sides of wrongful dismissal claims along with issues in marketing, distribution, and licensing, as well as trademark and copyright disputes. His practice has also included complex environmental litigation, contract breaches, financial and negligence claims and insolvency matters. Arnold has advised a wide range of successful, entrepreneurial business clients.

In August 2015, he served as trial counsel in R. v. Comeau, widely known as the “Free the Beer” case. In December 2017, he acted as co-counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada in a high-profile constitutional challenge addressing interprovincial trade barriers, particularly restrictions on moving liquor and other goods across provincial lines. The case drew significant media attention both in Canada and internationally and receives wide attention to this day.

Arnold has represented clients at every level of court in Ontario, as well as at the Federal Court (trial and appeal) and the Supreme Court of Canada. Since 1997, he is become widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading liquor-regulatory lawyers, and as the pre-eminent litigator in Canada for jewellery, fine art, armoured car, cash-in-transit, pawn shop, gun shop, furrier, shooting gallery and other speciality (“specie”) insurance claims.

Expertise

Representative work

• Advisor for On The Rocks? Section 121 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Constitutionality of the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act (2009), 35 Adv.Q.306