Insurer Claims No Duty to Defend Pet Stores in Biometrics Suit

Western World Insurance Co. says that it can avoid defending a pet supplies retail chain against a proposed class action that alleges the chain unlawfully collected and stored its employees’ fingerprints, arguing in a separate lawsuit filed in federal court in Michigan that the claims aren’t covered by its insurance policy.

Jennifer Walker sued Pet Supplies Plus in 2021, alleging that the retail chain didn’t ask for written consent before requiring its employees to scan their fingerprints to clock in and out of work, nor did it provide a publicly available retention and destruction policy, as required under Illinois’ Biometric ...