Freight rail giant BNSF has agreed to pay $75 million to resolve a class action accusing it of violating an Illinois state law that restricts the collection of biometric information such as fingerprints and eye scans.
Attorneys for a class of 46,500 truck drivers disclosed the proposed deal in a filing on Monday in Chicago federal court, where the claims against BNSF were tested last year in the first-ever trial under the stringent Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
BNSF, owned by billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), operates one of the country’s largest freight rail networks.
The lawsuit alleged Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF unlawfully collected fingerprint scans without consent from thousands of drivers using automated gate systems at the company’s four facilities in Illinois.
The drivers' attorneys said the settlement will bring "closure and valuable cash compensation to what has been contentious and costly litigation."
Representatives for BNSF and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal requires a judge's approval. BNSF did not admit any liability.
BNSF lost a jury trial over its liability in the case last year, and a U.S. district judge said the company owed $228 million in damages for violating the Illinois biometric law.
But the court in June overturned the award and said a jury should determine damages.
The Illinois state biometric law poses myriad compliance hurdles for companies, and many have faced litigation. In 2020, Facebook said it would pay $650 million to resolve class action allegations that it violated the Illinois law.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys in the BNSF case said they would seek up to 35%, or $26.2 million, for legal fees from the settlement fund.
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
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