Illinois Tops List For Thermonuclear Verdicts

A new report shows that Illinois is a top state for so-called ‘thermonuclear verdicts.’

Marathon Strategies found that juries in Illinois state and federal courts issued multi-million dollar verdicts against corporations that have totaled $3.3 billion since the Great Recession of 2009.

Several factors are driving the awards up, including Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, said Marathon Strategies CEO Phil Singer.

Cook, Madison and St. Clair counties have become a magnet for asbestos and ‘no-injury’ lawsuits. Notably, October 2022 was the first time a biometrics privacy class action lawsuit, Rogers v. BNSF Railway Co., went to trial in the state for violating BIPA, resulting in a $228 million verdict to a class of more than 45,000 truckers.

There is a growing call for Illinois lawmakers to make changes to BIPA, after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that each time someone’s biometric data is collected constitutes a separate violation of BIPA, prompting potentially large fines and civil action.