Federal district courts recently provided mixed guidance on insurance coverage for litigation under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which regulates the collection, use and storage of an individual’s biometric data. On March 1, 2022, in Citizens Ins. Co. of American et al. v. Thermoflex Waukegan LLC, et al., No. 1:2020cv05980, Document 52 (N.D. Ill. 2022), a trial court in the Northern District of Illinois held that a general liability insurer must defend an insured against a proposed class action of the insured’s employees’ BIPA claims, rejecting the insurers’ arguments that three different exclusions precluded coverage, including the Employment-Related Practices Exclusion. This decision is important insofar as it appears contrary to another recent decision in the Northern District of Illinois issued on January 7, 2022, which found no duty to defend based on an Employment-Related Practices Exclusion. Compare, American Family Mutual Ins. Co. v. Caremel, Inc., Case No. 20 C 637 (N.D. Ill. January 7, 2022).
In West Bend Mutual Ins. Co. v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan Inc., 2021 IL 125978 (Ill. 2021), the Illinois Supreme Court held that a general liability insurer had a duty to defend an insured in a proposed class action under BIPA when the insured allegedly shared customer fingerprint data with a third-party vendor. The Illinois Supreme Court found that a defense under the “personal and advertising...
Ryan Amacher, who played role in bid to damage campaign, has also made antisemitic and racist posts on social media An influencer who played a key role in hoax claims that James Talarico was in a ...