Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—D. Md.: Inmate’s monopoly claim against department of corrections dismissed, (Mar 13, 2014)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

An inmate’s claim against the Maryland state department of corrections for engaging in anticompetitive conduct by requiring that purchases of certain items be made solely through the prison commissary has been dismissed by the federal district court in Baltimore (Farewell v. Shearin, March 11, 2014, Messitte, P.).

Ross Franklin Farewell was an inmate at the North Branch Correctional Institution (NBCI)—a maximum security prison. The NBCI maintained a policy that, due to security concerns, inmates were permitted to purchase certain electronic items, such as beard trimmers and compact disc players, only through the institutional commissary.

Farewell filed suit against NBCI and its warden, Bobby Shearin, alleging that the policy was a monopoly in violation of antitrust laws, among other claims. Specifically, Farewell claimed that he was denied access to affordable products through restrictions on his commissary purchases. Under the policy, he has been denied the right to purchase products through a vendor of his choice and, therefore, forced to order products through the commissary at higher prices. NBCI and Warden Shearin moved to dismiss the complaint.

The court ruled that the antitrust laws do not apply to the operation of state agencies. Constitutional law claims also failed because the institutional regulation requiring that certain items be ordered solely through the state-operated commissary had a valid and rational connection to the important goal of institutional security, the court concluded.

The case is No. 13-1204.

Attorneys: Dorianne Avery Meloy, Office of Maryland Attorney General, for Bobby P. Shearin and Maryland Department of Corrections.

Cases: Antitrust MarylandNews