Biometric Privacy Perils Grow After BNSF Loses Landmark Verdict

Illinois’ first jury verdict in a biometric privacy class action will likely encourage more litigation in the state and place pressure on businesses to settle those claims long before they reach trial, attorneys say.

A federal jury on Oct. 12 found that BNSF Railway Co. violated the state’s unique Biometric Information Privacy Act by collecting fingerprints from more than 45,000 truck drivers as a form of identity verification without first obtaining proper consent.

The company, ordered to pay $228 million in damages, has vowed to appeal.

The trial’s outcome speaks to the strength of BIPA violation claims in general, and the significant risk they pose to companies, said class action defense attorney Jason Stiehl of Crowell & Moring LLP in Chicago.

‘If you don’t have a strong factual defense at the outset, the prudent approach is to find an exit strategy very, very quickly,’ Stiehl said. Otherwise, the damages will potentially be ‘company ending if you can’t get out early,’ he said.