James Riewald
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.Partner at Gowling WLG
- Called to the bar
- 2012
- Languages
- English
Civil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionAbout James Riewald
Financial institutions and title insurers make up most of James Riewald's clients. James is a partner with Gowling WLG in Hamilton, and the work sits at the meeting point of banking and commercial litigation: getting creditors paid, enforcing mortgages after a default, sorting out real estate fraud, and professional liability work.
Called to the Ontario bar in 2012, a year after finishing law school at Western, James spends a lot of time on their feet in court. That means every level of Ontario's courts, right up to the Court of Appeal, plus a range of administrative tribunals. There's a prosecution side to the résumé as well, with cases brought under the Provincial Offences Act.
TD Canada Trust and Home Trust Company have had James as their counsel in the Court of Appeal, and both matters went on to the Supreme Court of Canada, where the other side was refused leave. James has written about the law behind this practice, including a 2017 piece on a mortgagee's power to undo a below-market lease.
Practice areas
Lender recovery, mortgage enforcement and title fraud
Banks and other financial institutions bring James in when a borrower defaults, to enforce the mortgage and recover the debt, work that runs through Gowling WLG's Mortgage Recovery Services group. Title insurers are clients too, on real estate fraud and professional liability files.
Provincial Offences prosecutions
Alongside the civil work, James has handled prosecutions under Ontario's Provincial Offences Act.
Our guide: Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Toronto
Education & credentials
- JD, University of Western Ontario (2011)
- BA (Hons.), Wilfrid Laurier University (2008)
- Called to the Ontario bar (2012)
Notable cases
- Hasselsjo v. Arcand, 2019 ONCA 735
James was counsel for the respondents, TD Canada Trust and Dan Arcand, after the bank closed a customer's accounts and the customer sued. The court found TD Canada Trust was entitled to end the banking relationship and upheld the summary judgment dismissing the claims; in 2020 the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the customer's leave application with costs.
- Fazl v. Home Trust Company, 2022 ONCA 356
James acted for the respondent Home Trust Company, one of the lenders whose mortgages had led to power of sale proceedings against the borrower. A panel dismissed the borrower's motion to review the dismissal of the appeal for delay, and in 2023 the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the borrower's leave application with costs to Home Trust Company and two other respondents.
Decisions where James Riewald appeared as counsel, from public court records. Past cases don't predict future results.
Publications & speaking
- Mortgagee Sets Aside Mortgagor's "Sweetheart Deal" Tenancy Agreement, Mondaq (Gowling WLG) (2017)
- Online Defamation Order: You Will Be Found, Mondaq (Gowling WLG), co-authored with Christopher Purdon, David Haughton and Steven Nguyen (2012)
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This listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on their firm’s website. Confirm James Riewald’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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