BNSF Railway will settle biometric privacy case, after $228 mln verdict wiped out
By Mike Scarcella
Sept 18 (Reuters) -BNSF Railway has agreed to settle a closely watched privacy class action rather than head to trial for a second time, following a U.S. judge's decision in June that gave the company a new chance to fight alleged damages from truck drivers who claimed it unlawfully collected their fingerprints.
In a filing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago federal court said BNSF and the plaintiffs in the case had signed a settlement.
Kennelly's order did not reveal the terms of the deal, but the judge set a deadline of Oct. 20 for the lawyers to present the proposed resolution to him for review.
The two sides agreed to terms on Friday, Kennelly wrote in his order. He set a hearing for Oct. 31 and vacated an upcoming jury trial that was set to begin on Oct. 2.
BNSF, which operates one of the country's largest freight rail networks, is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N.
A spokesperson for BNSF and lawyers for the company at Jones Day did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs also did not immediately respond to a similar request.
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, one of the most stringent privacy laws in the country, imposes restrictions on the collection and use of personal information such as retinal scans and fingerprints.
A BNSF truck driver in 2019 sued the company, alleging that a fingerprint scan requirement at the company's Illinois facilities violated the state biometric privacy law.
BNSF has denied any liability. The Fort Worth-Texas based company said after the original trial in October — the first under the Illinois biometric law — that the verdict "reflects a misunderstanding of key issues."
In Kennelly's June order, BNSF secured a new opportunity to challenge alleged damages in the case. Kennelly that month scrapped an award of $228 million, saying that damages under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act were discretionary and not automatic.
Kennelly said "BNSF is entitled to have a jury determine the appropriate amount of damages."
The court's order upheld the jury's liability finding that BNSF violated the biometric law.
Last month, BNSF ended its work with law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius on the biometric case and hired a new team of lawyers from Jones Day to represent the company "in settlement negotiations with the plaintiff and, if necessary, a re-trial on damages."
The case is Rogers v. BNSF Railway Company, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 1:19-cv-03083.
For plaintiffs: Jon Loevy of Loevy & Loevy; and Myles McGuire and David Gerbie of McGuire Law
For BNSF: Bethany Biesenthal and Michael Gray of Jones Day
Read more:
BNSF Railway wins new trial over $228 million jury award in biometric data case
BNSF must pay truck drivers $228 mln for privacy violation
Reporting by Mike Scarcella; editing by Leigh Jones
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