Judges Mull If Samsung Must Arbitrate Illinois Privacy Claims

Federal appeals court judges seemed split Thursday on whether to require Samsung Electronics America Inc. to pay more than $4 million in arbitration fees in a case it claims is a shakedown by plaintiffs attorneys.

Labaton Sucharow LLP recruited nearly 50,000 individuals, in part by using social media, to file “frivolous” claims alleging the electronics giant violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act by illegally storing photographs of their faces, Samsung claimed.

Since Samsung requires its customers to settle any legal disputes through arbitration, the company faced more than $4 million in arbitration fees and tens of thousands of ...