Peter Halprin Interviewed by Law360 on the Insurance Implications of Growing Privacy Litigation

In addition to existing privacy statutes, companies are concerned about potential liability from the new wave of state privacy statutes. Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) serves as an example of how these state privacy laws can harm a companies’ bottom-line as well as insurance battles that may ensue.

In an interview with Law360, Partner Peter Halprin said that the rising class action claims under Illinois’ statute is instructive of the risks associated with a privacy-related law that contains a private right of action.

“The private right of action provides opportunity for class action lawsuits and that’s where some of the biggest privacy claims are coming from,” Halprin explained. “Certainly, the story of Illinois is one that keeps in-house counsel and risk management teams up at night.”

With huge damage awards at stake and the risk of numerous individual suits, companies facing private litigants may be more inclined to pitch prolonged battles rather than settling with plaintiffs “to set a line in the sand,” he noted.

Halprin advised companies to protect themselves from risk directly, but said insurance is always there as a backstop. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he added.

Read the full Law360 article here. (Subscription required)