Taft served as amicus counsel for a coalition of the largest health care providers in the state of Illinois. On Nov. 30, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its unanimous opinion in favor of Illinois hospitals, reversing the appellate court, and holding that the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA) exempts health care providers from liability when using employees’ biometric information for purposes of providing health care treatment, payment, or operations. This is the first time the Illinois Supreme Court has returned a defense-friendly decision regarding interpretation of BIPA, potentially saving Illinois health care systems billions of dollars.

This case involved BIPA claims against the defendant hospital through the use of medicine dispensing equipment. Due to the significant use of such equipment, and the fact that it is commonly used at many hospitals, a wave of lawsuits hit most of the major hospital groups in Illinois, threatening hundreds of millions of dollars in exposure.

The Taft team included Chicago partners Jon Amarilio, Daniel Saeedi, and Rachel Schaller. Amarilio serves as co-chair of Taft’s Appellate practice. He represents clients before state and federal appellate courts and is especially experienced with the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Saeedi has a robust practice in data privacy and information security issues, including matters related to biometric information and compliance with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Schaller is an accomplished litigator who advises and defends public and private entities concerning a variety of complex employment matters.