BIPA Game Changer: Seventh Circuit Caps Damages And Resets The Playing Field For Defendants

The Seventh Circuit has dramatically limited damages exposure for companies sued under Illinois’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). In a landmark win for corporate defendants, the court in Clay v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., No. 25-2185 (7th Cir. Apr. 1, 2026) held that a 2024 BIPA amendment—capping damages at a single recovery per person per violation type—applies retroactively to all pending cases, including those filed before the amendment took effect.... By: Benesch