Mitsui Sumitomo Gets Partial Win in BIPA Coverage Dispute

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance USA has a duty to defend and indemnify Thermoflex Waukegan LLC in a state lawsuit under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, but the duty won’t arise until Thermoflex has exhausted primary insurance limits with another insurer, a federal court ruled.

The coverage dispute arose after Thermoflex was hit with a worker’s class action alleging it violated the BIPA by requiring hourly workers to scan their handprints each time they clocked in and out of work, sending their handprint data to a third party, and not providing them with its data-retention policies.

Thermoflex had purchased several ...