George Manos Quoted in Law360 Article on First Appellate BIPA Coverage Decision

Chicago, Ill. (April 13, 2023) - Chicago Partner George J. Manos was quoted in a Law360 Pulse article titled, “Tech Co.’s Partial Win Opens Small BIPA Coverage Window,” which addresses the implications of a recent Illinois appellate decision determining that a cyber insurer must defend a technology company in a biometric privacy class action.

As the article describes, the appeals panel in this matter held that Remprex LLC’s insurance did cover defense costs in a class action contending that the technology company’s fingerprint collection for a railway violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). According to experts, this is the first state appellate coverage decision under a cyber policy. Moreover, as the article discusses, the decision “charts a narrow additional route to coverage for policyholders, which previously have had success under general liability insurance.”

In speaking with Law360, Mr. Manos pointed out a potential limitation to the decision, explaining that the court’s finding of coverage focused on an exception to an exclusion. He observed, “It isn’t clear to me that this decision will, by any means, suggest any kind of a floodgate scenario because the court focused on the language of the media liability section – and specifically, an exception to an exclusion – to find that there was a duty to provide a defense.” Adding, “It’s a smaller universe of insureds that would consider purchasing media liability coverage,” Mr. Manos explained that other types of privacy or cyber liability policies could cover BIPA suits, such that policyholders would not likely seek media liability insurance for such a narrow grant of coverage.

Moreover, the article notes that the court’s holding that Remprex’s disclosure of information to the railways was not a public disclosure contrasted with other courts’ interpretations of what constitutes a “publication” under commercial general liability. On this issue, Mr. Manos explained that the court’s holding in the Remprex matter referred to a different insurance-related action altogether, noting, “'To the public' and ‘publication’ might sound similar, but they are used to refer to different actions in the insurance context.”

Mr. Manos is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ Insurance Law, Bad Faith Litigation, Directors & Officers Coverage & Litigation, and Insurance Coverage Practices. He focuses his practice in the area of insurance coverage claims and disputes, representing insurers regionally and nationally. Mr. Manos recently participated in Lewis Brisbois’ BIPA Radar podcast series for an episode addressing insurance ramifications from the Illinois Supreme Court decisions in Cothron v. White Castle Systems and Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, the differences between occurrence-based and claims-made policies, whether general liability insurance can cover BIPA claims, and predictions for the future of BIPA coverage litigation.

Read the full Law360 Pulse article here (subscription may be required).