When you retain TWA Law, the opposing party will know you can go the distance, which allows you to focus on your business and interests.
about TWA Law
With over 20 years of experience, we focus on class actions, complex commercial litigation and providing practical general counsel to a variety of clients. We are no stranger to adversity or challenge and are ready to provide our expertise. We have you covered.
In 2021, we won the prestigious Class Action Lawyer of the Year Award by global network International Advisory Experts.
TWA Law is member of Consulegis and Interleges, international associations of legal and consulting firms allowing us to make sure you are covered around the world.
When you hire TWA Law, the other side will know you can go the distance, which allows you to focus on your business and interests.
about
Tom Arndt
managing partner
Tom Arndt has extensive litigation and general counsel experience and a proven track record of success. Tom has participated in lawsuits at all levels of court across Ontario and Canada, including national and international class actions.
Tom’s legal experience has been proven successful in:
- Class Actions
- Contract Disputes
- Real Estate Disputes
- Torts
- Shareholder Disputes
- Infrastructure
- Construction
- Employment
- IT/ IP
- Professional & Director Negligence
- Privacy/Third Party Record Requests
Education:
University of Guelph
B.Sc. (Hons), cum laude, 1992
University of Windsor Law School
J.D., 1998
Called to the Bar of Ontario, 2000
areas of practice
class action
We know class actions. We have prosecuted and defended leading class actions involving thousands of clients and some of the largest corporations. We deliver teams of lawyers and experts experienced in dealing with this complex litigation. In 2021, we won the Class Action Lawyer of the Year Award given by global network International Advisory Experts based on our work in the previous 12 months.
If you wish to bring a class action or need to defend one, please contact us. We go the distance. We have you covered.
commercial & business litigation
Sometimes lawsuits are unavoidable. Whether you are a public company, a private business or an individual entrepreneur, you can look to us for advice on your most complex commercial litigation needs. If we cannot help you avoid the lawsuit, we will get you through it. We have deep-rooted experience pursuing complex, high-profile and highly confidential cases across broad range of legal areas.
With your objectives as our top priority, we strive to protect you and your business through carefully developed and customized litigation strategies.
enterprise risk / bet the farm / company litigation
Clients come to us when the stakes are high. We have a proven track record of achieving success in high-stakes litigation. Where the client’s financial survival depends on the outcome of the case, we call it enterprise risk litigation, the entire enterprise is at risk. These cases can demand a different set of tools and expertise. They involve risk and reward analysis beyond typical lawsuits, with multiple parties, complex legal and factual issues and an in depth understanding of the parties’ strengths, weaknesses, goals and concerns.
general counsel
We provide practical general counsel to our clients. We invest in our client relationships to develop trust and to understand our clients’ risk and reward thresholds. Our goal is to help you sleep at night knowing that you have the best practical and legal advice available.
notable cases
Arsalani v. Iran and Ukraine Airline
This ongoing class action arises from the downing of Flight PS752 shortly after take-off from Iran. For more information go to www.flightps752.ca.
JB & M Walker Ltd./ 1523428 Ontario Inc v. The TDL Group
We acted for Tim Hortons donut shops owners against The TDL Group in these franchise law class actions. The shop owners revolted against TDL after Tim Hortons corporate was sold to a Brazilian equity fund. The equity fund was lining its pockets at the expense of the mom-and-pop owners and breaking the franchise version of ‘anti-union busting laws’. To fund the litigation, we got first of its kind precedent setting litigation funding. It is recognized as the leading case on litigation funding in Canada. Shortly thereafter getting funding, the class actions settled; the shop owners got rights and powers the court could not have given them, plus we got them money. For more, see the CBC news article here.
Jundi v. Ouaida Re Bassam Fayek Ouaida (Bankruptcy)
Jundi won a complex shareholder dispute against his former business partner. Ouaida was ordered to return Jundi’s investment plus pay punitive damages and costs. Ouaida used almost every trick in the book to avoid paying the judgment, including hiding assets into his dead mother’s name and filing for bankruptcy. We chased him down through the courts; time after time the courts undid Ouaida’s fraudulent attempts to hide assets. The courts took the extremely rare steps of annulling his bankruptcy, finding him in contempt fining him and even jailing him. The courts said he “flouted bankruptcy laws,” “manipulated the court system,” his actions were a “blatant case of misconduct,” this was “probably the rarest case of all.” We will continue to pursue Ouaida to the ends of the earth for our clients. For more, click here.
Nazdar v. GLL, AIG and AON
Engineers promised our clients they would clean up contaminated lands. Insurers said they would pay if they clean cost more than promised. The land was not cleaned up. The landlord sued for tens of millions of dollars. Our clients were caught in the middle. The engineers and insurers defended vigorously trying to bully our clients to give up. After 12 years of hard-fought litigation and with the help of the best experts, through the use of innovative confidential mediation and court procedures, we won settlement against these multi-billion-dollar juggernaut defendants that governments had deemed to be ‘to large to fail’.
Gostlin v. Canadian Tire Corporation
CIBC v. Dhillon
notable cases
Arsalani v. Iran and Ukraine Airline
This ongoing class action arises from the downing of Flight PS752 shortly after take-off from Iran. For more information go to www.flightps752.ca.
JB & M Walker Ltd./ 1523428 Ontario Inc v. The TDL Group
We acted for Tim Hortons donut shops owners against The TDL Group in these franchise law class actions. The shop owners revolted against TDL after Tim Hortons corporate was sold to a Brazilian equity fund. The equity fund was lining its pockets at the expense of the mom-and-pop owners and breaking the franchise version of ‘anti-union busting laws’. To fund the litigation, we got first of its kind precedent setting litigation funding. It is recognized as the leading case on litigation funding in Canada. Shortly thereafter getting funding, the class actions settled; the shop owners got rights and powers the court could not have given them, plus we got them money. For more, see the CBC news article here.
Jundi v. Ouaida Re Bassam Fayek Ouaida (Bankruptcy)
Jundi won a complex shareholder dispute against his former business partner. Ouaida was ordered to return Jundi’s investment plus pay punitive damages and costs. Ouaida used almost every trick in the book to avoid paying the judgment, including hiding assets into his dead mother’s name and filing for bankruptcy. We chased him down through the courts; time after time the courts undid Ouaida’s fraudulent attempts to hide assets. The courts took the extremely rare steps of annulling his bankruptcy, finding him in contempt fining him and even jailing him. The courts said he “flouted bankruptcy laws,” “manipulated the court system,” his actions were a “blatant case of misconduct,” this was “probably the rarest case of all.” We will continue to pursue Ouaida to the ends of the earth for our clients. For more, click here.
Nazdar v. GLL, AIG and AON
Engineers promised our clients they would clean up contaminated lands. Insurers said they would pay if they clean cost more than promised. The land was not cleaned up. The landlord sued for tens of millions of dollars. Our clients were caught in the middle. The engineers and insurers defended vigorously trying to bully our clients to give up. After 12 years of hard-fought litigation and with the help of the best experts, through the use of innovative confidential mediation and court procedures, we won settlement against these multi-billion-dollar juggernaut defendants that governments had deemed to be ‘to large to fail’.
Gostlin v. Canadian Tire Corporation
CIBC v. Dhillon
Yi Hao v. Kesarwani / Kapetanios
Yi Hao sued their former business associates and lawyers for multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud schemes. Yi Hao’s title insurer hired us to have the mortgages removed from title arguing they were fraudulent and put own without their permission. We have successfully acted on many real estate title insurance cases.
Portuguese Credit Union v. Carvalho
Min & Associates v. Chiu
Our client, an entrepreneurial accounting firm, was locked out of its offices by its former partner and current landlord at the height of tax return filing time. This was the make it or break it time of year for our client. We brought urgent court proceedings, worked through the night. The next day our client was back in its offices armed with a court order. Our client went on to get their clients taxes filed and continue to be a thriving and growing business.
North American Corp. v. IL Fornello
Our clients, entrepreneurial owners of a restaurant in a new build retail complex, were sued for not paying their rent. We defended arguing the landlord had not built out the retail complex as promised and they had not brought in the anchor tenants, so the customers did not come. The lawsuit was dismissed (thrown out) against our clients.
Nexus v. Magil
Our client had been dragged into complex litigation between the bankers and builders of the luxury lakefront resort Hotel X complex. There was no end in sight. We got our client’s bill paid and got them out of the lawsuit.
Morden v. Walter
Morden’s bookkeeper had embezzled millions of dollars. She was jailed. We got judgment and recovered our client’s money.
YRCC No. 890 v. Food Jungle
Our client, the mall owner, came to us to enforce mall rules. Problem shop owners were cooking outside designated areas damaging merchandise in other shops and causing fire hazards. We got an injunction ordering them to stop. They kept cooking. We successfully enforced the injunction. The Mall has an innovative commercial condominium ownership structure, making the enforcement of rules that much more complex.
A.G. Simpson v. Atlas Tool
Our client, America’s leading stamping die expert, were threatened with multi-million-dollar penalties that could put their family owned and managed company out of business. This was enterprise risk cross-border automotive industry litigation at its fiercest. We avoided the penalties and fought back the lawsuit. Our client continues to be America’s leading experts delivering quality products to its customers.
Steelcon v. Robertson Building Systems
Our client, a leading assembler of steel frame buildings got squeezed. On the one side its supplier’s quality control collapsed. Steel beams were fabricated backwards, arrived bent and parts were missing, to name but a few problems. On the other side, the owners of the buildings were furious because of construction delays and costs overruns. They were in the middle of enterprise risk litigation. This was make-it or break-it time. Our client sued the supplier claiming the supplier rushed production knowing quality would collapse but did it to increase their book value because they were trying to get bought out. Our client fought for survival. They won. They continue to be a leading erector of steel frame buildings in North America (but with a different supplier).
Babstock v. Atlantic Lottery Corporation
Our client manufactured and supplied the Video Lottery Terminals at the center of this class action. The class action claimed the VLTs broke the Criminal Law, compared them to ‘three card monte’ and argued that they were inherently dangerous and deceptive. They sued three provincial governments and manufacturers and suppliers of the VLTs. In July 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada threw out the class action. For more, click here.
Sajfert / Marangos and others v. IG and Yoannou
407 ETR v. Ontario (Registrar of MV) / Ontario (MTO)
We defended and protected 407 ETR’s rights in this enterprise risk litigation with the Province of Ontario. On his campaign trail to be elected Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty promised to force 407 ETR to ‘roll back the tolls’ on Highway 407 ETR, the first all electronic toll highway in the world. After getting elected, McGuinty used the Province’s full force to bully 407 ETR to give up its rights. The Courts and arbitrators protected 407 ETR from the Province and this politically motivated litigation. 407 was valued at $16 Billion at the time. The Province was threating to take that away without paying for it. We won 7-0! We then negotiated a settlement agreement that laid the foundation for a 407 ETR and the Ontario Government to work together productively going forward.
A.V.A. v. Joffe
We successfully defended and settled a class action on behalf of a doctor facing allegations of inappropriate conduct.
Dynamex v. P&D Investments Ltd.
Geofrey Management Ltd v. Ki Kit Li
Prendiville v. 407 International Inc.
We successfully acted as in-house counsel defending and settling this multi-million-dollar late payment fee class action.
Parsons v. Canadian Red Cross Society
We played a role in the 1986-1990 Hepatitis C Canadian class action that obtained one of Canada’s largest class action settlements, valued at $1.2 billion. Over 20 years later, this case continues to be routinely cited as a foundational case for Canadian Class Action litigation.
reviews
We don’t lose civil litigation cases, because of Tom Arndt, our evidence in criminal matters is never tossed out because of Tom Arndt.
In fact, we are rarely asked to testify, as our evidence is often entered as agreed statement of fact by the defence and the Crown because of Tom Arndt.
To this day when people are looking to cut corners and costs I remind them of the value in doing it right, and to ask ourselves “what would Tom do”?
Choosing Tom Arndt to be my lawyer was the best decision I made at a critical moment for my business.
My former business partner and landlord locked us out of our offices at the busiest time of the year (tax season). They were trying to put us out of business. Tom had us back in our offices the next business day and had a court order to make sure we stayed in.
Although English is not my first language, it did not slow us down. Tom got the job done.
Tom provided practical solutions to my urgent problem. The level of efficiency, customer service and professionalism was outstanding. I am very satisfied and continue to use Tom as my lawyer and refer others to him.
When we lost our business Joint venture fraudulently, we teamed up with TWA and won every Court decision in every Court. But in the interim, when we had a bad incident (Car Accident) that prevented us from helping TWA enforce the court decisions and at the time we were most vulnerable, Mr. Tom Arndt and TWA Law showed strength of character, professionalism and ethics. They protected us and enforced our rights to the fullest.
We proudly continue to use them as our trusted legal advisors and are grateful for the opportunity to endorse them to others. They do not just say that they go the distance and have us covered, they do it.
Tom Arndt represented my company in complex litigation involving a well known environmental company, a landlord, an international insurance company and insurance broker. Over a 12-year period his experience and along with his network of experts resulted in a successful conclusion to this case. I highly recommend Tom and his associates.
“Tom Arndt’s rapport and guidance was outstanding at all times, prompt, timely and knowledgeable. He was simply phenomenal from start to finish. Tom is a true professional, one that I highly recommend for anyone looking for the best legal representation.
professional involvement
- Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada
- Member of the Advocates Society
- Member of Consulegis
- Member of Interleges
- Member of International Advisory Experts
- Past Member of Class Action Practice Group executive team of The Advocates Society
- Member of the Toronto Lawyers Association
- Duty Counsel for Law Society of Upper Canada Discipline Tribunal Hearings
- University of Toronto Upper Year Moot Supervisor and Judge
- Institute for Civility and Professionalism
- 2009 Principles of Professionalism Committee member which committee produced the Principles of Professionalism for Advocates
- Past Chair of the Young Advocates’ Committee of the Board of Directors of The Advocates’ Society
- Past Committee Member of the Ontario Bar Association Business Law Securities Sub-committee
- Program Chair – The Advocates’ Society Junior Counsel Series: ReAct like a Pro!
community involvement
- Pro-Bono Law Ontario – Law Help Pilot Project
- Pro-Bono Law Ontario – Child Advocacy Project
- Tire Rack Street Survival School – Leadership Team
- Past Director of the Sir William Campbell House Foundation
- Past Director of the Willowdale Community Legal Services
- Membership of Devils Glen Ski Club
publications & presentations
Tom frequently publishes and presents on leading legal issues including:
- Class Actions Around the World, Consulegis – Editor and Contributor
- Major Recent Development in Canadian Law, Consulegis – Presenter at Dublin, Ireland
- The Intersection of Summary Judgments and Class Actions: When, Where and Why, The Commons Institute, Advanced Sessions on Class Actions
- Low-Hanging Fruit: Cross-Border Consumer Copycat Class Actions, American Bar Association
- Class Action Law in Ontario, Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Restrictive Interpretation of Limitation Period for Secondary Market Misrepresentation Claims,
- Class Action Law in Ontario Canada, A New Playbook 20 Years in the Making
- The Full Appreciation Test Unveiled, Summary Judgment Motions Expanded in Ontario
- The Supreme Court of Canada seeks to Rein-in Court Costs – A New Approach for Summary Judgment Motions in Ontario
- Fast Justice Again? Summary Judgment Motions in Ontario
- Zealous Advocate or Zealot?, The Commons Institute
- A Lawyer’s Duty to Opposing Counsel, The Advocates’ Society Institute for Civility & Professionalism
professional involvement
- Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada
- Member of the Advocates Society
- Member of Consulegis
- Member of Interleges
- Member of International Advisory Experts
- Past Member of Class Action Practice Group executive team of The Advocates Society
- Member of the Toronto Lawyers Association
- Duty Counsel for Law Society of Upper Canada Discipline Tribunal Hearings
- University of Toronto Upper Year Moot Supervisor and Judge
- Institute for Civility and Professionalism
- 2009 Principles of Professionalism Committee member which committee produced the Principles of Professionalism for Advocates
- Past Chair of the Young Advocates’ Committee of the Board of Directors of The Advocates’ Society
- Past Committee Member of the Ontario Bar Association Business Law Securities Sub-committee
- Program Chair – The Advocates’ Society Junior Counsel Series: ReAct like a Pro!
community involvement
- Pro-Bono Law Ontario – Law Help Pilot Project
- Pro-Bono Law Ontario – Child Advocacy Project
- Tire Rack Street Survival School – Leadership Team
- Past Director of the Sir William Campbell House Foundation
- Past Director of the Willowdale Community Legal Services
- Membership of Devils Glen Ski Club
publications & presentations
Tom frequently publishes and presents on leading legal issues including:
- Class Actions Around the World, Consulegis – Editor and Contributor
- Major Recent Development in Canadian Law, Consulegis – Presenter at Dublin, Ireland
- The Intersection of Summary Judgments and Class Actions: When, Where and Why, The Commons Institute, Advanced Sessions on Class Actions
- Low-Hanging Fruit: Cross-Border Consumer Copycat Class Actions, American Bar Association
- Class Action Law in Ontario, Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Restrictive Interpretation of Limitation Period for Secondary Market Misrepresentation Claims,
- Class Action Law in Ontario Canada, A New Playbook 20 Years in the Making
- The Full Appreciation Test Unveiled, Summary Judgment Motions Expanded in Ontario
- The Supreme Court of Canada seeks to Rein-in Court Costs – A New Approach for Summary Judgment Motions in Ontario
- Fast Justice Again? Summary Judgment Motions in Ontario
- Zealous Advocate or Zealot?, The Commons Institute
- A Lawyer’s Duty to Opposing Counsel, The Advocates’ Society Institute for Civility & Professionalism