When You Hear Hoofbeats, Think Privacy. Illinois Case Expands Potential Liability In BIPA Cases

On February 2^nd the Illinois Supreme Court decided Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, clarifying that all claims under Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) are subject to a five-year—not one-year—statute of limitations. 

Tims  is a class action suit alleging violations of BIPA, which imposes various requirements on companies' collection, retention, and deletion of “biometric information”—in this case, employees' fingerprints. The case came up on interlocutory appeal to decide the question of which limitations period controlled claims under the Act: the one-year limitations period (sought by defendants) applicable to “publication of matter violating the right of privacy” under 735 ILCS 5/13-201, or the five-year catch-all limitations period (sought by plaintiffs) under section 13-205. The Illinois Supreme Court found as a threshold matter that the appellate court erred in applying a different limitations period depending on which section of BIPA was at