Mary Smigielski Speaks with Law360 About Illinois Supreme Court Decision on BIPA Statute of Limitations

Chicago, Ill. (February 6, 2023) - Chicago Partner Mary A. Smigielski recently spoke with Law360 about the Illinois Supreme Court decision in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers Inc., which held that plaintiffs may rely on the "catchall" five-year limit on statute of limitations for all claims brought under the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

Ms. Smigielski, who co-authored a legal alert on the Tims decision last week, told Law360 that she considers the justices' remarks to be dicta, possibly going beyond what was needed to answer the certified questions before the court.

"I understand their point, and I understand that it's a catchall statute," she said. "However, I don't think they needed to go that far with respect to the dicta."

According to Law360, attorneys on both said that the decision was unlikely to change how BIPA cases are currently being litigated, as many lawyers were already working under the assumption that the five-year limitation applies.

In responding to the notion that Illinois justices in Tims v. Black Horse Carriers Inc. signaled a preference of siding with BIPA plaintiffs, Ms. Smigielski said that this was more of a signal that the courts are "are actually going to follow the law in Illinois, and the law in Illinois is in fact what they said with respect to the catchall statute."

Ms. Smigielski is the co-chair of Lewis Brisbois' BIPA Practice, the first in the nation, and head of the firm's Chicago Labor & Employment team. She has been on the cutting edge of BIPA litigation, frequently providing commentary to legal news outlets on the topic, and is the co-host of The BIPA Radar podcast series. Along with her BIPA work, Ms. Smigielski's practice involves class/collective actions and single-plaintiff employment litigation, administrative charges, nationwide counseling, training, and sensitive workplace investigations, including at the C-Suite level.

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