Stanley L. Felton, a prisoner at Green Bay Correctional Institution, sued ICSolutions, a private company providing tablets and communication services to inmates, and its employee Ken Dawson. Felton alleged that after he filed a consumer complaint about defective earbuds provided by ICSolutions, the company retaliated against him. Specifically, he claimed that ICSolutions screened his phone call to his fiancée, in which he discussed a recent murder at the prison and fears of racial tension, and reported the call to prison officials. As a result, Felton was placed in restrictive housing. He sued under the First Amendment for retaliation and under the Fourteenth Amendment for equal protection violations, arguing that ICSolutions selectively reported his call while ignoring similar calls by other inmates. The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim, and the Seventh Circuit reviewed the case on summary disposition.
The Seventh Circuit addressed two primary legal issues: First Amendment retaliation and Fourteenth Amendment equal protection. For the retaliation claim, the court applied the standard requiring a plaintiff to show protected activity, a deprivation likely to deter a person of ordinary firmness, and a causal link. The court emphasized the 'realities of a prison environment,' noting that inmates know their non-legal calls are monitored. The court found that reporting a call discussing a murder and potential retaliation did not constitute a deprivation sufficient to deter a prisoner from filing a consumer complaint. Furthermore, the court rejected the argument that the use of the tablet was the only method for phone calls, as the complaint did not allege such a restriction. Regarding the equal protection claim, the court required the plaintiff to allege intentional differential treatment with no rational basis. The court found Felton's allegations that other inmates made similar calls without being reported to be mere speculation, which fails to meet the pleading standard for a class-of-one claim. The court also noted that the defendants were private contractors, and the court affirmed the dismissal without reaching the specific question of whether they were acting under color of state law in a manner sufficient for liability, focusing instead on the failure to state a claim.
This decision reinforces the high bar for prisoners to prove retaliation claims against private contractors in the context of routine monitoring and reporting of inmate communications. It clarifies that allegations of unequal treatment must be supported by specific facts rather than speculation. The case is remanded to the district court with instructions to dismiss the complaint, leaving open the question of liability for private contractors in other contexts where state action might be more clearly established.
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