Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 22, 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act ("BIPA") case entitled Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc. Following an Illinois appellate court's decision that a one-year limitations period applies to certain sections of the Act while a five-year period applies to other sections, the sole issue on appeal for the Supreme Court is to identify the proper statute of limitations for claims under the BIPA. Though the Court did not offer any strong indications as to how it will rule on this contentious question, Illinois employers should closely monitor this decision in light of its inevitable effect on BIPA litigation moving forward.
Background on Tims v. Black Horse Carriers
This case originated in March 2019, when plaintiffs Jerome Tims and Isaac Watson filed a class action lawsuit against their employer, logistics company Black Horse Carriers, Inc. Plaintiffs alleged that the company unlawfully collected, possessed, and disclosed their fingerprints in violation of BIPA when the employees clocked in and out of work using a finger scanning timeclock. The company moved to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims as untimely, arguing that, because the BIPA does not contain its own statute of limitations, the court should apply the one-year limitations period for privacy...
