×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Prison Telecom Giant GTL Agrees to $67 Million Settlement in Class-Action Over Inactive Account Seizure Policy
Loaded on April 1, 2022
by Anthony Accurso
published in Prison Legal News
April, 2022, page 32
Filed under:
Settlements,
Seizure of Prisoner Funds,
Telephone Rates,
Global Tel*Link Corp.
Location:
United States of America.
by Anthony W. Accurso
Prison phone services provider Global*Tel Link (GTL) agreed to a settle a long-running class-action on December 20, 2021, with changes to company policies and up to $67 million to compensate customers for seizing funds in any account that remained inactive for 90 days. Though …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Deaths and Violence Mount at Overcrowded Alabama Prisons While Parole Rate Hits New Low, by Kevin Bliss, Jo Ellen Nott
- Alabama Plan to Relieve Prison Overcrowding: Tap COVID-19 Funds to Build “Mega-Prisons”, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Fourth Circuit Refuses to Reinstate Suit by NC Jail Detainee Alleging Denial of Access to Grievance System and Timely Medical Care Prisoner Didn’t Ask the Court to Extend Kingsley Protections, by Keith Sanders
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Death by Incarceration: Study Reveals High Death Rates Inside NY’s State Prisons, by Keith Sanders
- John Boston, The PLRA Handbook: Law and Practice Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, by Michael Mushlin
- Centurion Health Supplants Corizon in Missouri After Court Ruling, by Keith Sanders
- Extreme Sentences for Women in the U.S.: An Overview, by Ashleigh Dye
- Frozen in Place: How Winter Storms Push Texas Jails and Prisons to the Brink, by Tyler Hicks
- Texas Rangers Often Lackadaisical in Prisoner Death Investigations, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Judge in Louisiana Issues Sweeping Opinion Finding Numerous Eighth Amendment, ADA and RA Violations at Angola, by Derek Gilna
- ICE Settles Florida Detention Facility COVID-19 Class Action, All Detainees Offered Vaccination, by Mark Wilson
- Massachusetts Appellate Court Reinstates Prisoner’s Lawsuit Over Food Substitution, by Matthew Clarke
- $14.3 Million in Costs, Attorney Fees and Interest Awarded Against GEO Group in Suits for Not Paying Minimum Wage to Immigrant Detainee Workers in Washington, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Telecom Giant GTL Agrees to $67 Million Settlement in Class-Action Over Inactive Account Seizure Policy, by Anthony Accurso
- After Two Detainee Deaths, CoreCivic Hit With $2,500 Daily Fine for Chronically Short-Staffed Florida Jail
- Eighth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Private Companies Providing Missouri Prisoner’s Health Care, by Matthew Clarke
- $1.65 Million Settlement Reached in Connecticut Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Lupus, by David Reutter
- CFPB Report: ‘Criminal Justice Financial Ecosystem Exploits Families at Every Stage’: Finds ‘Products and Services Rife with Burdensome Fees and Lack of Choice’, by Chuck Sharman
- $325,000 to Detainee Assaulted at East Texas Jail, 90 Days to Former Deputy Who Beat Him While Restrained in Wheelchair, by Jo Ellen Nott
- No Charges So Far Against Former Arizona Corrections Director After Boozy Standoff with Police, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $1.1 Million Colorado Initiative Set to Assist Prisoners With More Employment Opportunities Upon Release, by Keith Sanders
- With $2.95 Million Settlement, San Diego County Jail Racks Up Over $15 Million in Wrongful Death Payments, by Jacob Barrett
- $1.5 Million Awarded for Failure to Protect Rikers Jail Prisoner Who Was Attacked Repeatedly, by Kevin Bliss
- California Supreme Court Reclassifies Clemency Records, No Longer Confidential, by Keith Sanders
- Private Prison Firm Revenues Soar on “Tailwind” of Immigrant Detainees, by Chuck Sharman
- Vermont Hep-C Settlement Agreement Provides Direct-Acting Antivirals to Infected Prisoners, by David Reutter
- $170,000 Damages and Fees As New Jersey Prisons Settle Transgender Lawsuit With New Policy, by Jayson Hawkins
- Ninth Circuit Overturns California Law Banning Private Prisons, by Kevin Bliss
- Medical Paroles Revoked in California and Massachusetts, by Matthew Clarke
- $170,000 in Attorney’s Fees, Solitary Confinement Reforms Achieved in Settlement of Maine Prisoner’s Lawsuits, by Matthew Clarke
- $325,000 Paid by Colorado County to Jail Detainee Brutalized by Guards Equipped with Controversial Training, by Chuck Sharman
- Third Circuit Says Mixed Dismissal of Civil Rights Action Not a Strike Under PLRA, by David Reutter
- Federal Court Sanctions Wexford for Discovery Abuse in Illinois Prisoner’s Suit, by Matthew Clarke
- Tenth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Colorado Prison Officials Who Shut Down Native American Religious Activities, by Jayson Hawkins
- Advocating for Objective Standards in a Post-Kingsley World, by Megha Ram
- $199,000 Awarded to California Detainee Assaulted by Santa Clara County Jail Guard, by Matthew Clarke
- $781 Settlement Paid to Oregon Prisoner Over Censorship of ‘Sexually Explicit’ Text Message
- Ninth Circuit: California Jail Prisoners Have No Constitutional Right Per Se to Outdoor Recreation and Direct Sunlight, by Matthew Clarke
- $100,000 Paid by Pennsylvania DOC to Family of Pro Se Prisoner Litigant Who Committed Suicide, by Kevin Bliss
- Settlement Relieves Death Row Isolation in Louisiana: Four Hours Daily Out of Cell, Five Hours Per Week in New Yard, by Jayson Hawkins
- News In Brief
- $1 Million Settlement in Inadequate Nutrition Class-Action Against New York Jail, by David Reutter
More from Anthony Accurso:
- The Systematic Terror of Rankin County’s “Goon Squad”, May 1, 2026
- Virginia Prisoners Stuck Waiting for Education Programs, Feb. 1, 2026
- $939,000 for Nevada Prisoner Left in Wheelchair by Delayed Back Pain Treatment, Jan. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Exclusion of Plea Agreement’s Factual Basis, Holding Unaccepted “Type A” Plea Agreement Unenforceable to Trigger Waiver of Rule 410 Protections, Dec. 15, 2025
- America’s Deadliest Jails: Tarrant County Edition, Nov. 1, 2025
- Seventh Circuit Dismisses Jail Detainee Suicide Case for Lack of Showing Deliberate Indifference, Nov. 1, 2025
- Protecting Your Digital Privacy, Oct. 15, 2025
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Warrantless Search of Civilly Committed Individual Violates Fourth Amendment, Oct. 15, 2025
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Guidance on Standards for Search Warrants of Cellphones to Satisfy Particularity Requirement of Fourth Amendment That “Reasonably Direct” Search to Uncovering Evidence of Criminal Activity Identified in Warrant, Oct. 15, 2025
- Sixth Circuit: Erlinger Error Requires Resentencing Where Government Cannot Prove Beyond Reasonable Doubt That Jury Would Find Prior Offenses Committed on Different “Occasions”, Oct. 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- L.A. County Begins Making Nearly $5 Billion in Payouts to Survivors of Sex Abuse in Juvenile Detention, Sept. 1, 2026. Sexual Assault, Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Guard Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Settlements, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Florida DOC Rebuked for Seizing Prisoner’s Excessive Force Settlement to Cover Incarceration Liens, Sept. 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Settlements, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Nevada Prisoners, Families Call Out Predatory Tablet Program, Sept. 1, 2026. Computers, Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- $3 Million Paid by San Diego County for Diabetic Detainee’s Jail Death; NaphCare Settles Separately for Undisclosed Amount, Sept. 1, 2026. Naphcare, Diabetes, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Damages, Settlements.
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Hawai‘i Pays $600,000 for Prisoner’s Withdrawal Death, Sept. 1, 2026. Medication, Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Failure to Treat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, Aug. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Attorney Fee Awards, Settlements, Consent Decrees, Class Actions.
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, Aug. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Exposure to Heat, Settlements, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.

