Thornley v. Clearview AI, Inc. SGT filed a proposed class action in Illinois state court against Clearview AI, Inc. (“Clearview AI”) in response to Clearview AI’s alleged profiteering off Illinois citizens’ biometric identifiers in violation of Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS/14 et seq. After Clearview AI removed the action to federal court, SGT successfully argued, before United States District Court Judge Sharon Coleman, that the action should be remanded to Illinois state court. Clearview AI appealed Judge Coleman’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which ultimately agreed with SGT and Judge Coleman, finding that while a bare regulatory violation of BIPA conferred standing in Illinois state court under Illinois law, it did not, standing alone, satisfy Article III’s requirement of a concrete and particularized injury and therefore affirmed. SGT’s clients subsequently settled the action on individual bases under confidential terms. The case was Thornley v. Clearview AI, Inc., No. 2020-CH-4348 and was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division.
