On
February
2,
2023,
the
Illinois
Supreme
Court
reversed
in
part
and
remanded
a
judgment
of
the
lower
appellate
court
in
a
class
action
lawsuit
alleging
violation
of
the
Illinois
Biometric
Information
Privacy
Act
(“BIPA”).
In
Jorome
Tims
v.
Black
Horse
Carriers,
Inc.,
Jorome
Tims
sued
his
former
employer,
Black
Horse,
and
alleged
that
it
violated
(1)
Section
15(a)
of
BIPA
by
failing
to
institute,
maintain
and
adhere
to
a
publicly
available
biometric
information
retention
and
destruction
policy;
(2)
Section
15(b)
of
BIPA
by
failing
to
provide
notice
and
to
obtain
consent
when
collecting
his
biometric
information;
and
(3)
Section
15(d)
of
BIPA
by
disclosing
or
otherwise
disseminating
his
biometric
information
to
third
parties
without
consent.
The
lower
appellate
court
had
ruled
that
two
different
limitations
periods
apply
to
a
cause
of
action
under
BIPA:
the
one-year
limitations
period
in
735
ILCS
5/13-201
(applicable
to
defamation
torts)
and
the
five-year
“catchall”
limitations
period
in
735
ILCS
5/13-205.
The
appellate
court
reasoned
that
the
one-year
limitations
period
applies
to
claims
based
on
section
15(c)
and
15(d)
of
the
Act
where
“publication
or
disclosure
of
biometric
data
is
clearly
an
element”
of
the
claim,
and
the
five-year
limitations
period
applies
to
section
15(a),
15(b),
and
15(e)
of
the
Act
because
“no
element
of
publication
or
dissemination”
exists
in
those
claims.
The
Illinois
Supreme
Court
found
that
the
appellate
court
erred
when
it
applied
two
different
limitations
periods
to
a
cause
of
action
under
BIPA,
and
that
the
five-year
limitations
period
contained
in
section
13-205
of
the
Code
controls
claims
under
BIPA.
Because
BIPA
itself
does
not
specify
a
statute
of
limitations,
this
case
provides
significant
guidance
to
future
BIPA
cases.
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