An Atlanta federal judge overseeing a class action against a company that provides telephone services to prison inmates dropped the hammer Monday, certifying the class accusing Global Tel Link Corp. of pocketing millions of dollars from inmate accounts it declared "inactive" if the funds weren't accessed for 90 days.

But U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg went further, issuing a 79-page sanctions order stating that the defendant "poisoned and burdened the entire discovery and litigation process with its conduct," ordering GTL to pay "all attorney's fees and costs incurred in discovery, class certification briefing, and litigation of sanctions issues."

The ruling by Totenberg, of the Northern District of Georgia, also ordered the parties to make another effort to resolve the case through mediation and, if the effort was again unsuccessful, allowed the plaintiffs to seek attorney fees.

The complaint, originally filed in 2015, asserted claims for violations of the Federal Communication Act and state claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. 

Key to Totenberg's sanctions ruling was evidence that GTL—which had maintained for years that the inmates and their friends and family members had agreed to have their accounts raided by assenting to an automated message when setting them up—had not provided any such notice.