The law had been inspired by a prominent data breach more than a decade ago, which placed a large number of people at heightened risk of identity theft. The law, on the books since 2008, had been intended to prevent the unwitting collection and disclosure of individuals’ so-called biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, facial geometry and retinal scans, among others. The lawsuits against both companies said they had violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. brought that lawsuit on behalf of named plaintiff Peter Bonahoom. Attorneys with the firm of McGuire Law P.C. 16 by a class action in Cook County court against Walgreens. The named plaintiff in that putative class action was identified as Leon Martin. 15, lawyers with the firm of Werman Salas P.C., of Chicago, and of Fitapelli & Schaffer LLP, of New York, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Midwest Gaming & Entertainment LLC, the owners of Rivers Casino in Des Plaines. The country’s second largest retail pharmacy chain and Illinois’ busiest casino have each been hit with class actions under an Illinois biometrics privacy law, accusing the companies of illegally tracking their customers’ movements using video technology.
