Illinois Supreme Court: Must Insurer Defend Salon in Biometrics Case?

The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court decision and held that an insurer is obligated to defend a tanning salon that is being sued by a customer who claims the salon violated the Illinois Biometric Information Act. The case is W. Bend Mut. Ins. Co. v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan, Inc. 2021 IL 125978.

Klaudia Sekura purchased a membership from Krishna Schaumburg Tan Inc., giving her access to L.A. Tan’s tanning salons. The membership required Sekura to provide Krishna with her fingerprints. Sekura filed a class-action lawsuit against Krishna alleging that Krishna violated the Act when it “systematically and automatically collected, used, stored, and disclosed their [customers'] biometric identifiers or biometric information without first obtaining the written release required by 740 ILCS 14/15(b)(3).” The complaint alleged that Krishna Tan systematically disclosed the Class’s biometric identifiers and information to an out-of-state vendor. The complaint also alleged that Krishna Tan did not provide a publicly available retention schedule or guidelines for permanently destroying its customers’ biometric identifiers and information as specified by the Act.