Illinois federal courts dismiss two biometric privacy lawsuits on similar grounds
Two U.S. federal judges dismiss two separate lawsuits alleging similar injury under the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA). Both cases were tossed out of federal court for similar reasons, a lack of standing under Article III of the U.S. Constitution. In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Judge Robert Gettleman ruled the suit lacks standing, as it only claims a bare procedural violation with alleging dissemination of the data. While U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer ruled in Corey Heard v. Becton, Dickinson & Co. that Heard had failed to provide sufficient details alleging that Becton Dickinson & Co. had violated BIPA by requiring him to access an automated medication dispensing system manufactured by the company – which users can only access by a fingerprint scan – used by hospitals where had worked since 2015. An interesting question: once the defendants removed their respective cases to federal court and were remanded due to lack of standing does that mean they will now be required to litigate the claims in state court under state law, the court they tried to avoid initially?
US district court Hunter v. Automated Health Systems, Inc.: https://judicialcaselaw.com/courts/ilnd/cases/1_19-cv-02529/067123649546?page=1
US district court HEARD v. BECTON, DICKINSON & CO.: https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/HeardvBectonDickinsonCoNo19C41582020BL66463NDIllFeb242020CourtOpi?1582692439
