James Harry Oliverio

James Harry “JH” Oliverio is a Partner at Anselmi & Carvelli LLP and represents businesses of all sizes, as well as individuals, in complex, high-stakes disputes. He regularly advises his clients on regulatory, insurance, corporate governance, contract and employment issues and has experience preparing and negotiating employment agreements, vendor and customer contracts, corporate governance documents, and leases and land contracts on behalf of commercial tenants and landlords. Offering both courtroom skill and practical business insight, he is known for his ability to see the full landscape of a problem, craft inventive approaches, while remaining laser focused on his clients’ interests.

JH’s litigation practice includes complex commercial disputes, employment matters, products liability defense, class actions, estate and probate cases, trade secret litigation, and corporate dissolution or oppressed minority shareholder disputes. He has also defended clients in a broad range of casualty claims, including premises liability, inadequate security, and claims involving alleged manufacturing defects, design defects, negligence, and breach of warranty. Clients trust him to resolve matters efficiently when settlement or alternative dispute resolution is in their best interests, and to be a formidable advocate when litigation is unavoidable.

Beyond his commercial litigation work, JH is highly skilled in First Amendment and defamation law, where he has successfully defended media organizations, journalists, and private individuals against claims that threaten free speech. His record includes defeating high-profile defamation suits under New Jersey’s Anti-SLAPP statute and securing dismissals and summary judgments in state and federal courts in New York and New Jersey.

JH has authored and co-authored publications on arbitration clauses, removal in multi-defendant litigation, and judicial scrutiny of solvent insurers’ arrangements. His writing has appeared in New Jersey Lawyer Magazine and Law 360.

Representative Matters

• Successfully obtained dismissal with prejudice of a multi-defendant defamation action against media companies, with the court holding that the challenged statements were protected opinion based on disclosed facts and that the plaintiff failed to allege actual malice.
• Defeated defamation lawsuit brought by a former Board of Education member under New Jersey’s Anti-SLAPP statute. The three defendants, including a former Board of Education member, were sued for defamation after publicly voicing support for a high school principal amid a local controversy. The plaintiff, also a former Board member, alleged that our clients falsely implicated her in the principal’s arrest, which were later dropped. The court granted our motion to dismiss the case in its entirety, finding that the suit targeted constitutionally protected speech on a matter of public concern.
• Achieved summary judgment in New Jersey state court on behalf of an individual in a defamation action brought against her by her landlord based on allegedly defamatory comments made in a Yelp review.
• Served on the trial team on behalf of plaintiff in a $1B+ quantum meruit claim that settled after more than three weeks of trial in New Jersey state court.
• Achieved summary judgment in New York state court on behalf of a television network in a defamation action based upon the network’s allegedly defamatory news story.
• Prevailed in representation of funeral home and its employees in regulatory investigation conducted by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office in connection with a consumer complaint.