A federal court in Illinois agreed with Google that a biometric
privacy lawsuit filed against it in the Northern District of
Illinois should be stayed in favor of a similar pending state court
case. Although it is not uncommon for plaintiffs' firms to file
nearly duplicative lawsuits in state and federal courts, it is not
always a guarantee that such lawsuits will be automatically stayed.
Before a stay order can be obtained, the defendant typically must
still engage in costly (and sometimes lengthy) motion practice. And
at least some courts still allow the later-filed action to proceed,
on various grounds.
This time, the district court made it clear that such
duplicative actions should not be allowed, as they waste the
parties' and judicial resources. They also create the risk of
inconsistent rulings. In the underlying lawsuit, which will now be
addressed by the Illinois state court, the named plaintiff alleged
that Google violated the Illinois Biometric Information
