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Last Update: 08/01/2026 at 1:00 PM EST

BIPA Damages Limited Retroactively

Coverage from Data Matters Privacy Blog, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, and others

Articles

4

Active Days

104

The Topic

BIPA Damages Limited Retroactively topic image

Recent Seventh Circuit rulings say Illinois BIPA's 2024 damages limit applies to pending cases, narrowing scan-based recovery and reducing class-action leverage in biometric privacy litigation.

First Article: 04/01/26

Latest Article: 07/13/26

Summary

  • The Seventh Circuit has applied Illinois's 2024 BIPA damages amendment retroactively to pending cases.
  • The rulings treat the amendment as remedial, not as a change to the underlying right to sue.
  • Per-scan damages for repeated biometric collection by the same person using the same method are now curtailed.
  • The practical effect is a lower damages ceiling in existing biometric privacy class actions.
  • The current signal is legally coherent and narrowly focused on statutory damages rather than broader biometric regulation.
  • This looks like an ongoing legal and enforcement issue, with the main change coming from court interpretation of an existing privacy statute.

History

This topic is new, but as new articles are added to it this area will summarize shifts, changes and expansions of the issues.

Featured

04-08-2026
Data Matters Privacy Blog / "Kathleen Carlson, Lawrence P. Fogel, Andrew F. Rodheim, W. Stuart Whitney"
Seventh Circuit Limits Potential Damages Under BIPA, Holds 2024 Amendment Applies Retroactively
The Seventh Circuit in Clay v. Union Pacific Railroad Co. ruled that Illinois BIPA SB2979 applies retroactively to pending cases, limiting biometric statutory damages.
03-31-2026
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Illinois' Damages Limitation For Biometric Privacy Violations Applies Retroactively
The Seventh Circuit on April 1, 2026 held that Illinois' 2024 BIPA damages-limiting amendment applies retroactively to pending biometric class actions in Clay v. Union Pacific Railroad.
04-08-2026
BiometricUpdate.com
BIPA Damage Limitation Applies Retroactively To Pending Class Actions
The U.S. Seventh Circuit ruled in 2024 that the Illinois BIPA damages-limiting amendment applies retroactively to pending cases, reducing per-scan recovery for biometric data claims.

Timeline: 104 Days

Mar 31Apr 21May 12May 26Jun 16Jul 7

Additional Articles

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Law.com / Madeline King07-13-2026
7th Circuit Eyewear Ruling Raises Questions of Healthcare Exceptions Under BIPA
The Seventh Circuit reversed the dismissal of a BIPA class action against GUNNAR Optiks over facial-scan virtual try-on software, remanding for exception analysis.