Attorney Profile
Attorney & Counselor At Law
David S. Chia, Esq.
David S. Chia is an Attorney and Counselor at Law who represents a diverse range of clients in business and commercial law, real estate and construction law, family law, personal injury law, and estate planning.
Mr. Chia has litigated multimillion dollar actions, negotiated multimillion dollar transactions, and structured multimillion dollar estate plans.
Mr. Chia has represented individuals, partnerships, corporations, and limited liability companies. He has counseled clients in a number of industries, including retail (equipment suppliers, online stores, and fashion designers), finance (financial consultants, lenders, and investment firms), real property (developers, contractors, architects, engineers, interior designers, property managers, and suppliers), hospitality (hotels and resorts), food (restaurants, eateries, and distributors), healthcare (clinics and physicians), and information technology.
Mr. Chia has also represented non-profit foundations and government entities. Examples include shelters, charities, chartered schools, and municipalities, such as the cities of Pasadena, Long Beach, and Riverside. Mr. Chia has represented other attorneys on numerous matters as well.
Mr. Chia’s extensive practice began at the outset of his legal career when he represented high net worth individuals and large companies at leading AV-rated law firms in Beverly Hills and Century City that are consistently recognized by Chambers USA and Martindale-Hubbell as elite Los Angeles law firms. Mr. Chia was a judicial extern to the Honorable Norman L. Epstein, Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal, and has served as editor and contributor to various legal practice guides and journals.
Representative Matters
Business & Commercial Law
- Obtained the complete dismissal of an action on behalf of an entrepreneur, who was accused of embezzling over $40 million from a healthcare organization, was under investigation by the FBI, and was sued by a team of leading Fortune 500 trial attorneys.
- Enforced a limited liability company’s contract rights against two businessmen represented by veteran appellate counsel and, following a two-month trial, obtained relief in favor of the limited liability company.
- Defended a surgeon accused of committing over $40 million in insurance fraud.
- Defended an international financier, who was accused of committing $3 million in securities fraud concerning the formation of casinos in Europe and Africa, and obtained the financier’s complete dismissal from the action.
- Enforced a lender’s rights to collect on promissory notes against a medical facility that accused the lender of misappropriating over $10 million.
- Substituted in as new counsel one month before trial in defense of an information technology specialist, who was accused of misappropriating $1 million from a partner and forging that partner’s signature, and obtained a complete dismissal of the entire action.
- Represented an attorney, who was secretly recorded in a private conversation, against a national collection agency and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Obtained complete dismissals of all investigations and disciplinary actions on behalf of two nursing professionals, one of whom was accused of a patient’s homicide and subject to police investigation and the other of whom was accused of physically abusing a patient and subject to state investigation.
- Represented a restaurant owner in a dispute for unpaid wages before the Department of Industrial Relations and obtained a summary dismissal of the matter.
- Formed, developed, and counseled a variety of companies, including a green technology corporation, a genome sequencing company, an entertainment company, a national college admissions consulting company, and an electronics distribution company.
- Counseled a health drink company on risk management with respect to national product distribution.
- Obtained immediate relief at the outset of litigation on behalf of a prominent real estate investor against two real estate professionals, both of whom were represented by preeminent celebrity counsel for the late recording artist, Michael Jackson, for defrauding the investor into purchasing real property.
- Defended a prominent real estate agent, who was accused of causing $2 million in damages for failing to adequately disclose defects in title with regard to the sale of two commercial properties, and obtained the agent’s complete dismissal from the action.
- Enforced a real estate investor’s contractual rights against a real estate development company renowned for its outdoor “city-center” retail plaza developments.
- Enforced a commercial lease on behalf of a real estate developer operating $1 billion in residential, office, retail, and industrial properties against an out-of-state electronics distributor.
- Enforced a commercial lease on behalf of a real estate group against a national frozen yogurt franchise for failing to satisfy contract obligations.
- Represented landowners in a real property partition action and prevented the sale and partition of land.
- Represented a real estate investor in the sale of 60 acres of undeveloped land for development.
- Represented a real estate developer in the construction of a lavish $120 million, 57-story, mixed-use condominium-hotel tower.
- Represented a commercial developer in the multimillion dollar renovation of a luxury, 56-story condominium tower.
- Represented a commercial developer in the multimillion dollar renovation of a lavish, 37-floor, mixed-use apartment complex.
- Represented hotelier in the renovation of an upscale, 18-story boutique hotel.
- Represented a public entity in the multimillion dollar construction of an ice skating facility.
- Represented a public entity in the multimillion dollar renovation of a fire station.
Real Estate & Construction
Personal Injury
- Represented a robbery victim against a national bank for failing to install security for its customers after a string of widely reported robberies occurred in the bank’s vicinity and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Represented a motorcyclist, who was severely injured in a head-on collision with a drunk motorist, and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Represented a driver and passenger who were severely injured in a head-on collision at a major intersection that rendered his vehicle a total loss and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Represented a victim of a brutal attack against a shopping mall landlord for failing to adequately protect customers after several reported attacks occurred on the shopping mall’s premises and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Represented a driver who was severely injured in a rear-end collision and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Represented an assault victim against a national supermarket chain for filing to implement security measures for its customers and obtained a high, confidential settlement.
- Represented a celebrated Hollywood producer and director, whose assets included royalties from a long-running, internationally-syndicated sitcom and royalties from acclaimed feature films, in his divorce from his wife.
- Represented a diamond mine heiress in a cross-jurisdictional divorce involving international child abduction and international assets located in South Africa and the United States.
- Represented a spouse, after substituting in as new counsel one month before trial in an action seeking additional property and spousal support, and obtained a complete dismissal of the entire action, with no award of any property or support.
- Represented a spouse in a divorce proceeding involving the distribution of domestic and international assets valued at approximately $25 million and prepared a favorable marital settlement agreement.
- Represented a petitioner for guardianship of a minor’s estate containing insurance proceeds and other assets.
Family Law
Trusts, Wills & Estates
- Crafted a multimillion dollar estate plan for a legendary Hong Kong producer of martial arts films.
- Organized a family limited liability company that managed various apartment complexes to limit liability, avoid unnecessary estate taxation, and streamline administration.
- Formed a multimillion dollar estate plan for a securities funds manager.
- Created a special needs trust for the care of a developmentally disabled child.
Attorney & Counselor At Law
David S. Chia, Esq.
Education
- UC Davis School of Law, J.D.
- Judicial Extern to the Honorable Normal L. Epstein, Presiding Justice of the California Court of Appeal
- Moot Court
- UC Davis Journal of International Studies & Public Policy, Editor
- UCLA, B.A. in Economics
- Additional Concentration in International Studies
- Magna Cum Laude
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Honors Program
- Golden Key Honors
- Alpha Lambda Delta Honors
- Phi Eta Sigma Honors
- National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Publications
- Construction Law Digests, Case Law Contributor
- Construction Laws Annotated, Editor
- "Listing Unlicensed Subcontractors," Insight, Volume XXV
- "New Rules for Substitution of Subcontractors," Insight, Volume XXIV
Advisor Activities
- American Industrial Real Estate Association (AIR) Attorney Advisor