Rogers v. BNSF Railway: Biometric Privacy

Truck driver Richard Rogers brought a class action alleging that BNSF Railway violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act when fingerprint information was registered and used through identity-verification systems at Illinois rail facilities.

The matter required analysis of records associated with the biometric registration system and the population reflected in those records. The case became the first BIPA class action to reach a jury trial.

Global Digital Forensics was retained by plaintiffs’ counsel to serve as database, data-analysis, and computer-forensics experts in the matter.

GDF’s work included restoring and analyzing database records associated with the identity-verification system, normalizing and deduplicating data, and reporting findings relevant to the biometric information stored by the system and the individuals reflected in those records.

GDF supplied counsel with a reconstructed and normalized account of the biometric-system data at issue. The described retention and technical work are GDF’s account of its role; the public decision establishes the court’s findings rather than every private engagement detail.

The jury found that BNSF recklessly or intentionally committed 45,600 BIPA violations, and the district court entered judgment for $228 million. The court later vacated the damages award and ordered a new trial limited to damages while leaving the liability finding in place.

The parties' settlement agreement provides for a $75 million fund, distinct from the earlier judgment. Consult the court record and settlement information for approval and distribution status. GDF's technical contribution is separate from the court's decisions and the parties' agreement.

Read the court's post-trial decision (opens in a new tab) and the settlement agreement (opens in a new tab). See the settlement information (opens in a new tab) for its published status.