Payments of $718 and $598 to begin the week of October 7, 2024. Additional payment of $280 expected in December 2024.
A federal court has granted final approval of three class action settlements in a case involving fingerprint scans of employees at several trampoline and entertainment parks in Illinois. Distributions of some settlement payments commence this week, with an additional payment expected in December 2024.
The settlements mark the culmination of extensive litigation that began in 2019. The lawsuit alleged violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Plaintiff, Madisyn Stauffer, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, alleged that fingerprints were collected and stored without proper notice and consent in violation of BIPA by her employer, a Sky Zone trampoline park franchisee (Innovative Heights Fairview Heights, LLC), as well as by the franchisor (Sky Zone Franchise Group, LLC), and by the equipment/software vendor (Pathfinder Software, LLC).
After years of litigation, Plaintiff reached separate settlements with each defendant. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois approved the settlements and appointed attorneys Kevin P. Green, Richard S. Cornfeld, Daniel S. Levy, and Thomas C. Horscroft of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., as Class Counsel.
Pursuant to the settlements, people in the Innovative Heights Class will receive approximately $718; people in the Sky Zone Class will receive approximately $598; people in the Pathfinder Class will receive approximately $280. Some people are in multiple classes, meaning they could receive money from each settlement, totaling approximately $1,596. Distribution of the Innovative Heights and Sky Zone payments began the week of October 7, 2024. Distribution of the Pathfinder payments is expected to begin in December 2024.
“Class actions are often criticized as being ineffective or frivolous, but this case demonstrates their powerful impact. The class members here will see significant compensation—amounts of over $1,500 for some—which can truly have an impact,” said Kevin Green of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., one of the attorneys appointed as Class Counsel. “The settlements are a testament to our team’s hard work over the last five years and underscore the vital role of giving people in Illinois control over their biometric data in today’s world of rapidly-changing technology.”
The case is Stauffer v. Innovative Heights Fairview Heights, LLC, et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-00046-MAB (S.D. Ill.).
The attorneys at Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C. have extensive experience representing clients in complex class action litigation across the country. Please contact us today at (800) 782-8492.
