JEREMY ALLEN, et al. v. GLOBAL TEL*LINK CORPORATION, dba ViaPath TECHNOLOGIES Settlement

If you received a Notice, you have been identified as a potential member of the Settlement Class in this lawsuit. Specifically, records held by Globel Tel*Link Corporation, also known as “GTL” or “ViaPath” indicate it charged you amounts for video calls and other messaging services placed to or from an Inspire® Wireless Tablet from May 15, 2022 through April 30, 2023. Plaintiffs allege that the amounts charged were higher than allowed under contract. As a Settlement Class Member, you are eligible to receive a payment as part of this class action Settlement. 

The Notice you received describes your rights. Please review it carefully.

The Court has scheduled a final approval hearing for July 18, 2025 at 10:00a.m. If there are no appeals, funds will be issued approximately 35 days after the Court finally approves the Settlement. Your deadline to opt out of the Settlement, or to object to the Settlement, is June 30, 2025. 
 

Plaintiffs Jeremy Allen, Charles Thomas, Zoey Hott, Matthew White, Martez Griffin, Elijah Taylor, and Ramona Orellana (“Plaintiffs”) filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against Global Tel*Link Corporation, d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“Defendant” or “ViaPath”) alleging that Defendant violated the Federal Telecommunications Act, 47 U.S.C. § 207 (“Federal Communications Act”) and West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, W. Va. Code §§ 46A-1-101 et seq. (“WVCCPA”) by collecting and attempting to collect payment fees for communications services between incarcerated and non-incarcerated individuals that were in excess of the rate authorized under the 2022 Master Agreement with West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (“WVDCR”) facilities, and 2) committed conversion under West Virginia common law by unlawfully taking money from Plaintiffs and putative class members, from May 15, 2022 through April 30, 2023.

Specifically, Plaintiffs, who include both incarcerated individuals and their non-incarcerated friends and family, allege that, during the relevant time period, they were overcharged for video calls by five cents per minute; overcharged for content access on their prison-issued tablets by one cent a minute; and overcharged for sending text, picture, and video messages to incarcerated people by ten cents a minute.

Defendant denies it did anything wrong or violated any laws.

The Court has not decided that Defendant violated the law. Nor has the Court made any determination that this lawsuit should proceed as a class action, as opposed to individual claims brought by Plaintiffs. This Notice should not be interpreted as an expression of the Court’s opinion on which side is right or wrong. If the parties had not reached a settlement, Defendant would have vigorously defended the lawsuit and asked for a ruling in its favor.

Within the Settlement, you are a member of the “Settlement Class.” The Settlement Class is all consumers who: (1) were incarcerated in a West Virginia jail or prison at any time between May 15, 2022 through April 30, 2023, 2024 and were charged excess amounts by ViaPath for video calls and other messaging services placed from an Inspire® Wireless Tablet; or (2) were not incarcerated but contacted an individual who was incarcerated at a West Virginia jail or prison between May 15, 2022 through April 30, 2023, using a ViaPath “Getting Out” smartphone application, and were charged excess amounts for video calls and/or other messaging services.

If you have questions about your rights and obligations regarding this Settlement, you can contact Class Counsel at [email protected], or if you are currently incarcerated, by using the free, private GettingOut messaging app to which you have access on your tablet.

Payments. A Settlement Fund will be used to make payments to the Class.

Settlement Class Members who paid amounts over what could be contractually charged for video calls, messaging, and tablet usage during the class period, will receive a full refund of those amounts (“Overage Charges”).

*NOTE* Class members with ViaPath accounts have already been refunded the amounts they were overcharged through funds being restored to their accounts. If you are no longer are incarcerated or no longer use your ViaPath account, you can ask for a refund from ViaPath.

Individuals can contact ViaPath at any time to request a refund of any unused funds remaining on their account. The phone number to use for customer service would depend on the type of account. If you are requesting a refund from your tablet account while you were incarcerated, call Connect Network at (877) 650-4249. If you are requesting a refund from a “Friends and Family” account, call Getting Out at (866) 516-0115.  Upon calling in to request a refund, the individual will need to validate their identity.

In addition, every Settlement Class Member will receive an equivalent amount in “Additional Refunds.” For example, if you were overcharged by $10.00, you will be reimbursed that $10.00, plus paid an additional $10.00, for a total of $20.00.

Manner of Payment. If you have a currently active account with Defendant, and you do not advise the Settlement Administrator that you want the Settlement Funds credited to your prison commissary account or distributed to you by check, the Settlement Funds will be credited to your currently active account with Defendant. If you have a currently active account with Defendant, and you prefer to have Settlement Funds credited to your prison commissary account, you must message the Settlement Administrator through the free GettingOut messaging app available on your prison tablet  on or before June 30, 2025, to request a credit to your prison commissary account instead of your currently active account with Defendant. If you have a currently active account with Defendant and you prefer to have Settlement Funds distributed to you by check, you must email the Settlement Administrator at [email protected] or message the Settlement Administrator through the free GettingOut messaging app available on your prison tablet, on or before June 30, 2025, to request distribution by check and include your mailing address in the message.

If you do not have an active account with Defendant or a prison commissary account, your payment will be issued to you by check to your last known address.

The Court has approved lawyers to represent the Settlement Class (“Class Counsel”).  If you prefer to hire your own attorney to represent you in this case, you may do so at your own expense. The attorneys who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class are:

You will not be charged for these lawyers. Subject to Court approval, Class Counsel will seek attorneys’ fees and costs of $90,000 that will be paid by Defendant separately. Class Counsel may also seek a service award in an amount not to exceed $3,500 to be paid to each Plaintiff for their services in representing the Settlement Class. The attorneys’ fees, costs, service award, and settlement administration expenses will be paid by Defendant and will not affect the payment you could receive under the Settlement. 

You have three options. You can (1) do nothing, (2) exclude yourself (in other words, “opt out”) from the Settlement, or (3) object to the Settlement. 
This chart shows the consequences of selecting each option:

Your options and rights are explained in the following sections, along with the steps you must take if you wish to opt out or object.

If you do nothing, you will remain in the Settlement Class and be bound by the Court’s orders. You will also receive an automatic payment as described above following approval by the Court of the Settlement.

You will not be able to pursue claims against Defendant that are covered by the Settlement’s release. All the Court’s decisions regarding the Settlement will apply to you and you will be bound by any judgment entered.

If you exclude yourself from the Class, you will not receive any money from the Settlement. You will not be bound by any of the Court’s orders regarding the Class, or any judgment or release entered regarding the Class. You will retain any legal rights you may have against Defendant.

You will be responsible for the fees and costs of any services provided by your own lawyer.
 

If you wish to be excluded (or “opt out” of the class), you must mail a written request for exclusion addressed to the Settlement Administrator at Allen v Global Tel*Link Settlement, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23459, Jacksonville, FL 32241. Your request for exclusion must be in writing, signed by you, and postmarked on or before June 30, 2025. The request must state: “I do not want to be part of the Settlement Class in Allen v. Global Tel*Link d/b/a Viapath Technologies.” The request must also be dated and include your name, address, and telephone number. If you have a new address, please also inform the Administrator of the new address so they can update the appropriate records.  If you exclude yourself, you are not eligible to receive a payment.

If you object according to the steps below, the Court will consider your objection. If it overrules your objection and approves the Settlement, you will be bound by the Court’s decision, and you will remain a part of the Class and receive a payment.

You may object to all or part of the Settlement if you think it is not fair, reasonable and/or adequate. To object, you must file with the Court, and send copies to the parties’ counsel, a written explanation of the reasons you think that the Court should not approve the Settlement. Be sure to sign the letter and include your name, address, and current phone number, and the basis of your objection including any documentation, and include a notation that it is for “Allen et al., v. Globel Tel*Link Corporation d/b/a ViaPath Technologies, No. 1:24-cv-00827-LMB-IDD (E.D. Va.).” The deadline to file an objection is June 30, 2025. If you are represented by counsel in your objection, include that attorney’s information.

The Court will hold a final approval hearing on July 18, 2025, at 10:00a.m. before the Honorable William E. Fitzpatrick, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. At the final approval hearing, the Court will consider whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also hear objections to the Settlement, if any. We do not know how long the Court will take to make its decision after the hearing. In addition, the hearing may be continued at any time by the Court without further notice to you. Check after July 18, 2025, to confirm the hearing date, the court approval process, and the Effective Date of the Settlement.

You do not have to appear at the final approval hearing to be eligible to receive a monetary payout. If the Court approves the Settlement, the Court’s judgment as to the Settlement Class will be binding on all Settlement Class Members who do not validly exclude themselves.
 

The notice you received is only a summary of the proposed settlement. You can review more details about the proposed settlement and access additional documents, including the Complaint and the full Settlement Agreement, on the Settlement Website or by calling the Settlement Administrator at 866-227-7735.

For questions about the Settlement, you can also email Class Counsel at [email protected] or message Class Counsel on the free, private GettingOut messaging app available on your prison tablet.