On April 12, 2021 the Court approved a $650 million class-action settlement involving Facebook’s violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Act. To qualify for a settlement payment, users of Facebook had to meet certain criteria such as; have lived in Illinois for at least 6 months over last 9 years, appear in a picture uploaded to Facebook after June 7, 2011, and filed a claim by November 23, 2020. Although around 6.9 million users qualified, only 1.6 million users actually filed claims…which is good news for those who did file a claim because it means larger payments. After expenses and attorney’s fees were removed, the current estimate is that each person who filed a claim will receive a $345 settlement payment, but the payments have been delayed. Three members of the class have filed appeals to the settlement, claiming that the attorney’s fees are too high and the settlement amount is too low. The payout to the class members cannot be paid until the appeals are resolved, which could take a year or two. Legal experts believe there is not a high likelihood of success of the appeals since the settlement was considered equitable and approved by the lower court, but the appeals process still has to play-out, therefore you’ll be waiting a bit longer for that $345 check to come.
Disclaimer: The law firm of Allison & Mosby-Scott was not part of this legal case and will have no involvement in the settlement payments.
Derek Luster
Attorney at Law
