Clay v. Union Pacific Railroad Company

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 25-2185
Decision Date: 
April 1, 2026
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., Eastern Div.
Holding: 
Reversed and remanded.
Judge: 
BRENNAN

The Seventh Circuit considered whether a legislative amendment to the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which confirmed that damages should be evaluated on a per-person basis, applied retroactively to cases pending when it was enacted. The appellate court held that the amendment applied retroactively because it impacted only the statutory damages available to plaintiffs and was a remedial change that did not change the law’s substantive standards of liability. (HAMILTON and JACKSON-AKIWUMI, concurring)