Stephen P. DeNittis is the managing partner of DeNittis Osefchen Prince, P.C. An experienced consumer fraud class action litigator and catastrophic personal injury litigator, Mr. DeNittis and the firm have recovered over $500 million for victims of severe injury or corporate fraud in federal and state courts across the country. He currently serves as lead or co-lead counsel in many class actions currently pending in federal and state court. Since 1998, Mr. DeNittis has successfully served as lead or co-lead counsel in over two hundred (200) class actions involving consumer fraud, false advertising, food mislabeling, construction defects, wage and hour violations, RESPA violations and mass tort litigation throughout the country.
In 2013, he was designated by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney, a high honor of achievement as only 1.5% of attorneys in New Jersey hold such a designation. He is also rated AV, the highest rating given by Martindale Hubbell, the country’s foremost legal directory. He has also been named to the a "Super Lawyer” list in New Jersey for the years 2013-2022.
In 2020, Mr. DeNittis also received two more high honors. He was named as on of America’s Top 100 High Stake Litigators for New Jersey, an honor less than one-half percent of active attorneys in the United States has received. In the same year he was also named as one of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers in New Jersey, again a designation bestowed to less than 1% of attorneys nationally.
For the methodology as to how such organizations selected Mr. DeNittis see www.superlawyers.com, www.thenationaltriallawyers.org and www.top100highstakeslitigators.cpm/selection-methodology/.
Mr. DeNittis’ notable cases include (see disclaimer below):
In the last six years:
Barba et al. v. Old Navywhere Mr. DeNittis served as lead counsel and obtained a class settlement wherein Old Navy offered $340 million in Purchase Certificates to a class of 34,000,000 consumers. The class alleged that Old Navy stores and website offered products with false reference prices which results in fake discounts and fake sales.
Andrews et al. v. Gapwhere Mr. DeNittis served as lead counsel and obtained a class settlement class wherein Gap offered $240 million in Purchase Certificates for 24,000,000 consumers to receive free merchandise. The class alleged that Gap Factory Outlet and Banana Factory Outlet stores and website offered products with false reference prices which results in fake discounts and fake sales. Consumers received up to $12 in vouchers to obtain free products or use to receive discounts off products.
Coladonato v. JCrewwhere Mr. DeNittis served as one of the lead counsel and obtained a class settlement of $24 million on behalf of a class of 2.6 million New Jersey, New York and California consumers. The class alleged that JCrew Outlet stores and website offered products with false reference prices which resulted in fake discounts and fake sales. Consumers received up to $16 in vouchers to obtain free products or use to receive discounts off products.
Sekelew et al. v. Burlingtonwhere Mr. DeNittis served as lead counsel and obtained a class settlement of $9.6 million on behalf of a class of 1,000,000 New Jersey consumers. The class alleged that Burlington stores and website offered products with false reference prices which resulted in fake discounts and fake sales. Consumers received up to $12 in vouchers to obtain free products or use to receive discounts off products.
Jones v. Empire Beauty Schoolswhere Mr. DeNittis served as lead counsel and obtained a $6.75 million common fund settlement on behalf of 300,000 consumers who received services and were allegedly overcharged at one of Empire’s 28 beauty school clinics located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Spector v. TD Bankwhere Mr. DeNittis was one of the lead counsel and obtained a $9.4 million settlement on behalf of approximately 3,000,000 account holders of TD Bank. This case involved New Jersey consumer fraud claims against TD Bank’s for its faulty Penny Arcade Coin Counting Machines allegedly undercounting consumers’ money.
Krivy v. Jean Madeline Beauty Schoolswhere Mr. DeNittis served as lead counsel and obtained a $1.35 million settlement on behalf of 70,000 consumers who received services and were allegedly overcharged at one of Jean Madeline’s 3 beauty school clinics.
Anderson v. Redflex and Telliho v. American Traffic Solutionswhere Mr. DeNittis served as lead counsel and secured a $6.1 million settlement obtaining partial refunds for over 600,000 persons in New Jersey who received traffic violations by alleged faulty red light camera equipment located in 18 municipalities across the state. As a result of my suits, the red light camera program in New Jersey has been terminated.
Other notable cases in the last 15 years.
France v. Merrill Lynchwhere Mr. DeNittis served as co-lead counsel in a wage an hour violation action and obtained final approval in 2009 of a $43.5 million class action settlement on behalf of a class of 22,000 Merrill Lynch stockbrokers in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.
Ingling v. Ryder Truck Rental where he obtained a $7 million dollar settlement on behalf a client who suffered a devastating brain injury as a result of a slip and fall that occurred in a parking lot in 2005. The settlement was recognized by The New Jersey Law Journal as the largest slip and fall settlement in the State of New Jersey for the year 2007 and still stands as the largest recovery for an individual in the State involving a person injured by a slip and fall;
DeMarco v. National Collector’s Mint where Mr. DeNittis was lead counsel and obtained a settlement valued at $9 million dollars on behalf of a class of 176,000 class members who were defrauded into purchasing a fake coin allegedly issued by the U.S. Mint to commemorate the “9/11” Terrorist Attack. The case was a matter of first impression in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the Hobby Protection Act 15 U.S.C. § 2101(b) and is now a published opinion in the Federal Reporters. 229 F.R.D. 73 (S.D.N.Y. 2005).
Mr. DeNittis was also plaintiffs’ trial counsel in Barkers v. Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG) where he obtained an order for PSEG to install excess flow valves or place cement protective bollards to approximately 2,800 residential and commercial gas meter sets located throughout the State of New Jersey. PSE&G negligently placed meters in a dangerous condition, in close proximity to persons’ driveways, garage doors or parking areas. As a result of Mr. DeNittis’ efforts in the case, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities proposed and adopted new rules and regulations in December of 2004 prohibiting any new or existing gas meters from being installed in the State of New Jersey within 3 feet of any garage door, driveway or parking area. Mr. DeNittis was also lead trial counsel in Schmoll v. J.S. Hovnanian, a class action that settled after four days of trial which resulted in J.S. Hovnanian repairing a construction defect found in 995 homes in the Holiday East development in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.
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