BNSF Gets New Trial to Alter $228 Million Biometrics Verdict (1)

A new trial will be held to determine if BNSF Railway Co. will have to pay $228 million, or another amount, for violations of an Illinois biometric privacy law, a federal judge ruled.

The high-dollar award came last year in the first biometric privacy class action to go to trial in the state. BNSF was found liable for collecting fingerprint scans from more than 45,000 truck drivers without proper consent.

In a Friday order, Judge Matthew Kennelly agreed with BNSF that damages under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act are discretionary and not mandatory. He also ruled that a ...