BNSF eyes possible settlement, swaps law firms in biometric privacy case reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A U.S. judge on Friday ordered a new trial on damages against BNSF Railway in a privacy class action, in a ruling that wiped out an award of $228 million to truck drivers who accused the freight railway giant of unlawfully collecting their fingerprints. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Illinois upheld a jury's liability verdict that BNSF had violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which imposes restrictions on the collection and use of personal information such as retinal scans and fingerprints. But Kennelly said damages under the biometric law were discretionary, and so "BNSF is entitled to have a jury determine the appropriate amount of damages."