Kaseem Ali-X v. New Jersey Department of Corrections, A-3546-22

Kaseem Ali-X, an inmate, purchased refried beans from an outside vendor through the prison's "Incentive Food Package" program, believing the beans were kosher.
Upon receipt, Ali-X discovered the beans contained lard and were not kosher as expected.
The vendor offered a refund if the beans were returned, but the correctional facility refused shipment, citing a policy against shipping food from the prison.
Ali-X filed multiple grievances regarding the inability to return the beans and receive a refund, which were denied by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) and were not timely appealed to court.
Over three years later, Ali-X filed a property claim with the DOC seeking refund and postage reimbursement, which was denied as untimely; he then appealed the denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Timeliness of Property Claim	The DOC's refusal deprived Ali-X of due process and restitution	Claim was filed years after the incident	Claim was untimely under regulations—affirmed denial
Due Process Violation	Department abused authority, recklessly disregarding rights	Enforced established prison rules/notice given	No due process violation—actions not arbitrary
Notice of Prison Policy	Not given proper notice of rule prohibiting returns	Rules are in Inmate Handbook and were followed	Prison followed rules; lack of notice unsupported
Punitive Damages	Claimed willful misconduct by DOC employees warrants damages	Claim not previously raised; outside scope of review	Claim not considered; not properly preserved or timely

In re Stallworth, 208 N.J. 182 (2011) (sets standard for appellate review of administrative agency decisions)
In re Carroll, 339 N.J. Super. 429 (App. Div. 2001) (presumption of reasonableness attaches to agency decisions)
Henry v. Rahway State Prison, 81 N.J. 571 (1980) (standard for overturning administrative agency decisions: arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable)