2022 was another banner year for Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act ("BIPA") class action litigation, with a number of high-profile developments taking place in this space, the most notable being the first BIPA jury verdict in Rogers v. BNSF Ry. Co., No. 19 CV 3083 (N.D. Ill.). At the same time, class action filings continued apace, while several decisions on key BIPA issues extended the boundaries of liability exposure for non-compliance even further.

First BIPA Trial Results in Resounding Win for Plaintiff

On October 12, 2022, the world of biometric privacy litigation experienced a development noteworthy enough to put it on equal footing with Rosenbach v. Six Flags Ent. Corp., 2019 IL 123186 (Ill. 2019)—which held actual injury is not required to pursue BIPA claims—with a jury finding in favor of a class of Illinois truck drivers in the first BIPA class action to be tried to verdict in Rogers v. BNSF Ry. Co. After closing arguments, the jury needed less than an hour to return its verdict in favor of the class of truckers, which awarded $428 million in statutory damages.