West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. Krishna Schaumburg Tan, Inc.

Class-action suit filed against a tanning salon and franchisee, alleging that salon violated the Biometric Information Privacy Act provisions relating to the collection of biometric identifiers and biometric information when it scanned customers' fingerprints and when it disclosed biometric information containing her fingerprints to an out-of-state 3rd party vendor. Salon tendered suit to its insurer and requested a defense. Insurer filed declaratory judgment action contending that it did not owe duty to defend. The term "publication" in insurer's policies includes a communication with a single party, such as this 3rd party vendor. Allegation that salon shared customers' biometric identifiers and information with 3rd party vendor alleges a potential violation of right to privacy within the purview of insurer's policies, and that customers suffered a nonbodily personal injury or advertising injury (emotional upset, mental anguish, and mental injury) that comes within the purview of insurer's policies. The violation of statutes exclusion in insurer's policies does not apply to the Act. Insurer has a duty to defend salon. BURKE, GARMAN, THEIS, M. BURKE, OVERSTREET, and CARTER, concurring.)