Tag: Illinois

Categories
Biometric Privacy Compliance Tips Biometric Privacy Legal Landscape Case Law Developments

Illinois Supreme Court Dramatically Expands Liability by Ruling Each Scan of a Biometric Identifier Is a Separate Violation

Amanda M. Noonan |

In a 4-3 split, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that claims under Sections 15(b) and 15(d) of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) accrue each time a private entity scans a person’s biometric identifier and/or submits such scan to a third party—rather than only upon first collection. Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc., 2023 IL 128004 (Feb. 17, 2023). This decision—which dramatically expands the scope of potential liability for BIPA defendants—comes just weeks after the Illinois Supreme Court held a five-year statute of limitations applies to all BIPA causes of action in Tims v. Blackhorse Carriers, Inc., 2023 IL 127801 (Feb. 2, 2023).

The impact of Cothron on claim accrual, coupled with Tims’ resolution of the statute of limitations, will have an immense and immediate impact on BIPA class-action lawsuits—many of which had been stayed pending these decisions.

For many businesses that implement biometric time clocks, which scan biometric identifiers to track employee time/attendance, this means each time an employee scans in-and-out of work, a new BIPA violation accrues. Together with the five-year statute of limitations period, BIPA defendants may now be facing hundreds—if not thousands—of independent BIPA violations for a single complainant.

Continue reading “Illinois Supreme Court Dramatically Expands Liability by Ruling Each Scan of a Biometric Identifier Is a Separate Violation”
Categories
Biometric Privacy Legal Landscape Case Law Developments Class Action Litigation Defense Strategies

Illinois Supreme Court Holds Five-Year Statute of Limitations Applies to All Biometric Information Privacy Act Claims

Amanda M. Noonan |

In a highly anticipated decision, the Illinois Supreme Court in Tims v. Blackhorse Carriers, Inc., 2023 IL 127801 (Feb. 2, 2023), recently resolved longstanding uncertainty about the statute of limitations under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). The Court held all claims arising under BIPA are governed by the five-year “catch-all” statute of limitations period provided by section 13-205 of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. See 735 ILCS 5/13-205. In so holding, the Court adopted the most expansive of the two limitations periods at issue. And it rejected Defendant’s—and the broader defense bar’s—contention that Illinois’ one-year limitations period, as applied to certain privacy/defamation actions, should extend to all BIPA actions.

Notably, the Supreme Court reversed, in part, the First District Illinois Appellate Court’s decision that incongruently applied a one-year limitations period to claims arising under Sections 15(c), and 15(d)—but a five-year limitations period for BIPA actions accruing under Sections 15(a), 15(b), and 15(e). Under the Appellate Court’s reasoning, Sections 15(c) and 15(d) included elements of publication analogous to certain common law privacy torts, and, for that reason, required application of Illinois’ one-year statute of limitations for “actions for slander, libel or for publication of matter violating the right of privacy” 735 ILCS 5/13-201. At the same time, the Appellate Court applied the “catch all” five-year statute of limitations period to claims under Sections 15(a), 15(b), and 15(e), reasoning no publication element was involved. 735 ILCS 5/13-205.

Continue reading “Illinois Supreme Court Holds Five-Year Statute of Limitations Applies to All Biometric Information Privacy Act Claims”
Categories
Case Law Developments

Illinois Appellate Court Clarifies Applicable Limitations Period in BIPA Class Action Litigation

David J. Oberly |

On September 17, 2021, the Illinois Appellate Court First District delivered its much-anticipated decision in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., 2021 IL App (1st) 200563 (1st Dist. Sep. 17, 2021), addressing the applicable statute of limitations for causes of action asserted under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”).

The court held that claims brought under Sections 15(a), (b), and (e)—pertaining to the law’s privacy policy/data destruction, notice/consent, and data security requirements—are subject to a five-year statute of limitations. Conversely, claims asserted under Sections 15(c) and (d)—relating to the law’s ban on profiting from biometric data and disclosure limitations—are subject to a one-year limitations period.

Importantly, in finding that BIPA’s two most commonly asserted provisions, Sections 15(a) and (b), are subject to the longer five-year limitations period, the opinion ensures that the tsunami of class action BIPA filings will continue to flood the courts for the foreseeable future.

Continue reading “Illinois Appellate Court Clarifies Applicable Limitations Period in BIPA Class Action Litigation”