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Stephen DeNittis is an American attorney and class action litigator who serves as the founder and managing partner of DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C., a law firm established in 2013. He is recognized nationally for his work in consumer fraud, environmental contamination claims, false advertising, and complex personal injury litigation in state and federal courts across the United States.
Early life and education
DeNittis was born in 1970 in Willingboro, New Jersey. His father was a saxophone player for Bill Haley and the Comets before transitioning into a career in sales, while his mother was initially a homemaker and later entered the sales profession.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Rutgers University, Camden in 1992. After graduating, he worked in sales for approximately two years before pursuing a legal career. He later received his Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law – Harrisburg in 1997, where he participated in moot court competition and trial advocacy activities.
Legal career
Following law school, DeNittis began his legal career as an associate at Shabel & Shabel, P.C., and was admitted to practice law in 1997. Early in his career, he secured a jury verdict in his first trial as a second-year attorney. In 2000, he partnered with Norman Shabel to form Shabel & DeNittis, P.C.
Admitted to practice in 1997, DeNittis has focused his legal career on consumer protection, class actions, and catastrophic personal injury litigation. Since 1998, he has served as lead or co-lead counsel in more than 275 class actions recovering over $845 million for his clients in claims involving allegations such as deceptive fees, false advertising, product and food mislabeling, false reference pricing, wage and hour violations, construction defects, environmental contamination, and mass tort claims across multiple jurisdictions.
In 2013, he founded DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C., where he oversees a nationwide class action and complex litigation practice. He is admitted to practice before state courts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, numerous federal district courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third and Ninth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.
DeNittis serves on the Board of Governors of the New Jersey Association for Justice and has held leadership roles within its consumer law section. His professional memberships include the American Association for Justice, American Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association, and multiple county bar associations.
Teaching and professional activities
DeNittis has lectured extensively on class action litigation, consumer protection law, personal injury, and federal practice at continuing legal education programs sponsored by bar associations, courts, and legal education organizations. He has also co-authored legal scholarship addressing class action procedure published in New Jersey Lawyer Magazine.
Notable cases
Bogus deceptive fee litigation
In 2021 to 2025, DeNittis obtained many multi-million dollar settlements against telecommunication and broadband internet companies involving claims for bogus or deceptive fees imposed on customers after making their purchase. These include Esposito et al. v. Cellco Partnership (Verizon), which resulted in a $100 million nationwide settlement concerning alleged undisclosed administrative charges — the largest bogus fee settlement in the country to date. Seale v. Altice resulted in a $15 million settlement for a class of Optimum and Suddenlink customers, and Grillo v. RCN Telecom Services obtained an $11.5 million class settlement for 835,000 RCN internet customers charged an alleged deceptive Network Access Fee.
False reference pricing litigation
In 2020–2024, DeNittis served as lead or co-lead counsel in multiple large consumer fraud class actions involving alleged deceptive pricing (fake sales). His notable cases include Barba et al. v. Old Navy (valued at approximately $340 million), Andrews et al. v. Gap (valued at $144 million), Coladonato v. J.Crew (valued at $24 million), and Sekelew v. Burlington (valued at $9 million).
Subway “Footlong” litigation
DeNittis represented plaintiffs in a series of class action lawsuits filed in New Jersey courts against Subway, alleging that the company’s advertised footlong sandwiches frequently measured less than twelve inches. He sought class-action certification, compensatory damages, and injunctive relief requiring Subway either to deliver twelve-inch sandwiches or modify its advertising practices. The litigation received widespread national media coverage and contributed to public scrutiny of advertising accuracy in food marketing.
Environmental and mass tort litigation
DeNittis represented plaintiffs in environmental tort class actions, including a case against Middlesex Water Company and 3M concerning PFOA and PFAS contamination in New Jersey drinking water. The case resulted in a $4.9 million settlement providing reimbursement for affected residents’ out-of-pocket expenses and was described as one of the largest drinking-water contamination settlements of its kind in New Jersey at the time. He has also obtained recoveries in cases such as Staub v. Hoeganaes, involving alleged industrial contamination affecting multiple marinas in New Jersey, and Carnival v. Waste Management, involving claims of pollution and public nuisance affecting residential property values.
Wage and hour litigation
DeNittis has litigated significant cases in the financial advisor industry involving claims that advisors were entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). These include France v. Merrill Lynch, which resulted in a $43.5 million recovery for approximately 23,000 advisors, and Kauffman v. JP Morgan, which resulted in over $5 million in recovery for thousands of JP Morgan advisors.
Infrastructure and construction defect litigation
DeNittis served as plaintiffs’ trial counsel in Barkers v. Public Service Electric and Gas, a litigation that led to regulatory changes governing the placement of gas meters in New Jersey following findings that certain installations posed safety hazards. His work contributed to the adoption of new rules by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. He also served as lead trial counsel in Schmoll v. J.S. Hovnanian, a construction defect class action involving repairs to nearly 1,000 homes in New Jersey and among the first class action cases in the state to proceed to trial, as well as class actions against D.R. Horton, Orleans, Pulte and others forcing repairs to thousands of homes throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Community involvement
DeNittis has been involved in youth athletics, coaching and sponsoring his children’s soccer and softball teams, and previously served in leadership roles with the Moorestown Soccer Club. He has also served as an officer and board member of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern New Jersey. He is a longtime Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holder.
Recognition and honors
In 2013, DeNittis was designated a Certified Civil Trial Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, a distinction held by approximately 1.5% of attorneys in the state. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been named to the Super Lawyers magazine list from 2013 through the present. He has also been recognized by The National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and by America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, and was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2024.