Chase Tajima

Bar / Professional Activity

• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• United States District Court, Southern District of California, 2025
• U.S. Tax Court
• Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States District Court for the Central District of California
• State Bar of Hawaii, 2011
• State Bar of California, 2015

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• Johnston v. Commissioner (United States Tax Court Memorandum Opinion 2015-91). Sitting as second trial counsel, Chase Tajima obtained a complete taxpayer victory where the IRS asserted cancellation of indebtedness income from a $250,000 employee loan. The IRS sought to impose substantial penalties and interest charges. The employee testified he was repaying the loan and it was not cancelled even though the statute of limitations on the debt had passed. The court ruled for the taxpayer and no tax was owed., 2015
• Sitting as second chair trial counsel, Chase Tajima secured a $5.6 Million DTLA Eminent Domain Jury Verdict.   After a two-week trial, a jury rendered a verdict of $5.6 million for a Downtown Los Angeles shopping center against the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the eminent domain taking of a subterranean subway easement underneath the property. The underground easement will seriously impair the value of the property by preventing the future development of a high rise mixed-use condominium retail project. Tunneling underneath existing structures will increase the risk of subsidence, building cracking and create noticeable surface level noise and vibration for generations to come. Construction has already caused significant business interruption, parking issues, traffic congestion, and administrative burden for the shopping center and surrounding community., 2017
• Mid-Trial Defense Victory in SF – Settled For Pennies on the Dollar Appearing in San Francisco Superior Court as trial counsel, Chase Tajima sitting as second chair, successfully defended, during a two-week trial, an international telecommunications fiber optic cable defendant from the plaintiff’s lawsuit seeking multi-million dollar stock warrants. The plaintiff falsely claimed he brought key investors and customers to the defendant that entitled him to millions in compensation and a possible lucrative five-year consulting contract. Crockett & Associates offered compelling evidence at trial that the plaintiff raised no funds for the defendant and that the plaintiff’s oral contract claims lacked credibility. Faced with a total loss, the plaintiff capitulated and agreed to a settlement that was less than 2% of what was claimed and a small fraction of the plaintiff’s lowest settlement demand at the time of trial. The defense settlement was less than the cost to take the trial to verdict. The settlement terms protected the company from further lawsuits from the plaintiff., 2018
• $1.4 Million Settlement from Caltrans to RV Park for Eminent Domain Taking, Access Impairment and Property Damage.   Caltrans widened and shifted Highway 49 which fronted a popular Northern California RV park. In the course of construction, Caltrans paved over the permitted driveway the RV park utilized decades, and thereafter, RVs could not safely and legally access the highway. Caltrans also destroyed the RV park’s internal roadways, river frontage, fencing and cut down heritage trees. After extensive discovery, motions practice, and deft expert analysis, Crockett & Associates proved substantial damages to the RV park above and beyond the value of the land taken for the highway project. After defeating Caltrans’ motion for summary judgment against the RV park’s crossclaims for inverse condemnation and breach of contract, through multiple mediations and intense negotiations, the parties were able to settle for $1.4 million. The settlement came minutes before the judge was to certify the case for trial setting. The settlement figure was nearly 11x Caltrans’ initial offer., 2020
• BLK. Black Water Obtains Stipulated Judgment in Federal Court Prohibiting the Sale of Knockoff USA Black Water   Chase Tajima appeared as trial counsel for BLK. Enterprises LLC. Featured on the television program The Real Housewives of New Jersey, BLK. Black Water, a black fulvic mineral beverage, expanded its distribution worldwide to China, Australia, South America and the Middle East. In late 2017, to its dismay, BLK. Enterprises LLC discovered that its bottler was manufacturing a knockoff black fulvic mineral water called USA Black Water using the same techniques and trade dress used to create BLK. Black Water. Refusing to allow another brand to profit from its hard earned reputation in the healthy-for-you bottled water market, BLK. Enterprises LLC filed suit against the seller and manufacturer of USA Black Water. In November of 2018, at the eve of trial in the Central District of California, United States District Court, the seller and manufacturer each reached agreement with BLK. Enterprises. The seller is no longer permitted to sell USA Black Water and may not produce or sell another black fulvic mineral water. BLK. Enterprises demonstrated that it would spare no expense to protect its brand worldwide., 2018
• $8 Million Arbitration Award in Beverly Hills Construction Defect Case. An upstart general contractor took on the construction of two eight-figure marquee homes in Beverly Hills. The homes were supposed to have expansive city views, eight-car garages, elevators, a man cave, pools and modern European finishes. What the contractor built was anything but. Three years after starting construction, the contractor was clearly in over his head: faulty construction; unpaid, underqualified, and unlicensed subcontractors; missing materials; and liens filed against the property. The owner was left holding the bag with a half-finished, defective house on one property and nothing but a leaning retaining wall on the other. C&A demanded arbitration which the contractor repeatedly attempted to frustrate. Finally, arbitration went forward for three weeks via Zoom. The virtual process was nearly seamless, allowing remote testimony from witnesses in three countries. The arbitrator ruled that the general contractor (i) breached the construction agreements, (ii) owed $8 million in damages, including the developer’s attorneys’ fees; and (iii) erroneously filed a lien against the property. The contractor was awarded nothing on its breach of contract claim. A resounding win., 2020

Honors

• Achieved a Silver Badge as a Client Champion under Martindale-Hubbell, Client Champion Silver, Martindale-Hubbell, 2025

Educational Background

• University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Minor in Political Science, 2006
• Georgetown University Law Center Master of Laws in Taxation Graduation with Distinction, 2011

• Cannabis
• Commercial Property Owners
• Religious Organizations
• Small to Large Business Entities
• Subsea Cables
• Telecom