A class action settlement has been brought against BioLife for resolving claims that it collected the fingerprints of donors without complying with the Illinois state laws. This $6 million settlement includes two subclasses – the first one constitutes members who scanned their fingers at eligible locations between 8th September 2015 and 5th March 2020, and the second subclass comprises members who scanned their fingers between 6th March 2020 and 15th November 2021 after signing the biometric consent form.
BioLife is a plasma collection company where you can donate your plasma and get paid. Plasma refers to a component of blood containing clotting factors, antibodies, and proteins. It is a valuable donation since medical treatments for shock, burns, trauma, and autoimmune conditions rely heavily on plasma donation. Despite having a pious motive, BioLife has been charged with violation of biometric privacy laws as it obtained fingerprint data from donors but failed to store, transfer, and maintain the same as per Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Law (BIPA).
The Biometric Information Privacy Law standardizes storage, notices, disclosures, and destruction of sensitive biometric data like fingerprints. A company can be forced to pay a penalty of up to $5000 for each violation if it fails to inform customers how their biometrics are being stored, collected, or shared. The BIPA class action lawsuit stated that BioLife didn’t comply with the law and failed to provide BIPA disclosures, maintain a public schedule of biometric information retention and obtain informed written consent from consumers. Though BioLife has not admitted to any wrongdoing under BIPA, it has agreed to resolve this class action lawsuit with a fund pool of $5,994,233.
Cash payments shall be made to BioLife donors based on their Subclass under the terms of the settlement. Subclass 1 is eligible for higher payments from the settlement as they didn’t sign any biometric consent form. Subclass 2 can recover the payments made although they will get lesser payments than Subclass 1.
Eligibility for Making Claim: The terms of this settlement are expected to benefit individuals who scanned their fingers at an Illinois BioLife plasma donation facility between 8th September 2015 and 15th November 2021. As per the settlement website, there are a total of 57525 Class members in this group.
Proof of Purchase: PIN and Claim number
Potential Claim Amount: Variable
Objection Deadline: The last date for objecting to the settlement is 25th April 2022 if you haven’t already excluded yourself from the settlement. You must file an objection with the Clerk of the Court in Cook County if you wish to object to the settlement. A postmarked mail or an email shall have to be sent on or before the deadline alongside a copy of the written statement to the Defendant’s Counsel and Class Counsel at the addresses provided in the Class Notice. Class Members will also have to mail a postmarked copy of the objection on or before the deadline to the Settlement Administrator at the following mailing address:
BioLife IL Finger Scan Settlement
Analytics Consulting LLC
P.O. Box 2006
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2006
Exclusion Deadline: If the Class members exclude themselves from the settlement, then they won’t receive any money and will not be legally bound by the terms of the settlement. But for doing this, they will have to either email or mail their written exclusion request to the Settlement Administrator within 25th April 2022. The written exclusion request should contain your full name, address, telephone number, last four digits of your Social Security Number, and a statement that you wish to be excluded from the settlement. This document should be personally signed by you if you wish to retain your legal rights regarding the claims against BioLife and other released parties but will not receive any money from this settlement.
Claim Form: Claim Here
Deadline for Submitting Claim: The last date for submitting the claim and requesting a settlement payment is 25th April 2022. You need to complete the form and submit it online, postmark and mail it for return. The claim form will have to be submitted in a pre-paid envelope which was mailed to Class members or online here with your unique Claim ID. Class Members will receive either electronic payment or a cheque depending on the selected mode of payment if you return a completed and valid claim form timely and it gets the approval of the Court. If you decide not to take any action, then you won’t receive any money or other benefit from the settlement. However, you will still be bound by all judgments and orders of the Court. Class members will not be able to file or continue a lawsuit against the released Parties regarding legal claims arising from or related to the allegations brought about in the lawsuit. In such cases, the Class Members shall lose their right of suing BioLife and other parties who have been alleged for violating BIPA.
Final Hearing Date: The date of the final hearing has been scheduled for 2nd June 2022. Here the court will decide whether it will approve the settlement before any money is paid out. If the settlement gets the approval of the court and there are no further appeals, then the payment shall be distributed to a class member who submitted valid and timely claim forms after approximately two months.
Settlement Amount: $5,994,233