Stephen DeNittis

Founder & Managing Partner, DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C.

Stephen DeNittis has spent more than two decades holding corporations accountable in some of the most consequential consumer protection and class action cases in the country. As the founder and managing partner of DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C., he leads a nationally recognized litigation practice that has recovered over $845 million for clients across more than 275 class actions — from exposing deceptive telecom billing practices to challenging false pricing in the retail industry.

Born and raised in Willingboro, New Jersey, DeNittis built his legal career from the ground up. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Rutgers University, Camden in 1992, and his Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law – Harrisburg in 1997, where he honed his advocacy skills through moot court and trial competitions. He was admitted to practice that same year and won a jury verdict in his very first trial as a second-year associate — an early signal of the litigator he would become.

A Nationally Recognized Litigation Practice

In 2013, DeNittis founded DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C., building on more than a decade of class action experience that began when he partnered with Norman Shabel to form Shabel & DeNittis, P.C. in 2000. Today, his firm handles complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. DeNittis 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.

His practice spans consumer fraud, false advertising, environmental contamination, wage and hour violations, mass tort claims, and construction defects. He has served as lead or co-lead counsel in cases involving deceptive billing by major telecommunications providers, fake retail sale pricing, PFAS water contamination, and overtime violations affecting tens of thousands of financial advisors nationwide.

Landmark Cases and Recoveries

DeNittis’s case record reflects both the breadth and scale of his practice. He secured a $100 million nationwide settlement in Esposito et al. v. Cellco Partnership (Verizon) — the largest bogus-fee settlement in the United States — along with additional settlements against Altice ($15 million) and RCN Telecom Services ($11.5 million) for similar alleged deceptive charges. In the retail sector, he led false reference pricing litigation that included Barba et al. v. Old Navy (valued at approximately $340 million) and Andrews et al. v. Gap (valued at $144 million).

His environmental work resulted in a $4.9 million settlement against Middlesex Water Company and 3M for PFOA and PFAS drinking water contamination — one of the largest of its kind in New Jersey at the time. In the financial services sector, France v. Merrill Lynch delivered $43.5 million in overtime recoveries for approximately 23,000 financial advisors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

DeNittis also gained national media attention representing plaintiffs in the Subway “Footlong” litigation, which alleged that the chain’s signature sandwiches consistently fell short of the advertised twelve-inch length. The case sparked widespread public debate about truth in food advertising.

Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Standing

Beyond the courtroom, DeNittis is a committed legal educator. He has lectured widely on class action procedure, consumer protection law, and federal practice at continuing legal education programs hosted by bar associations and courts. He has co-authored scholarship on class action practice published in New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, and he serves on the Board of Governors of the New Jersey Association for Justice, where he has also held leadership roles in the consumer law section.

In 2013, the Supreme Court of New Jersey designated DeNittis a Certified Civil Trial Attorney — a distinction held by fewer than 2% of New Jersey lawyers. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, has been named to the Super Lawyers list annually since 2013, and was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2024. He is also recognized by The National Trial Lawyers as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and by America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.

Community

Outside of practice, DeNittis is active in his community. He has coached and sponsored youth soccer and softball teams and previously served in a leadership capacity with the Moorestown Soccer Club. He has served as an officer and board member of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern New Jersey, and is a longtime Philadelphia Eagles season ticket holder.

DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C.  |  www.denittislaw.com