People who donated blood plasma at clinics operated by Octapharma in Illinois may soon see a bit of cash headed their way, under a $10 million settlement approved by a Chicago federal judge to end a class action lawsuit over donor fingerprint scans.
The lawyers who led the class action can expect to see more than $3 million land in their accounts, as well, under the deal.
On Feb. 16, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall granted final approval to the deal.
The legal action dates back to 2019, when named plaintiff Mary Crumpton filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Octapharma Plasma. The class action accused the company of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, for the way in which Octapharma required donors to scan their fingerprints to verify their identity when donating plasma.
The plaintiffs specifically asserted Octapharma required donors to scan their fingerprint each time they donated plasma, but did not first obtain written consent from donors to scan their prints, nor did they provide donors with written notices regarding how the company would store, use, share and ultimately destroy the scanned prints.
Under the deal, Germany-based Octapharma agreed to pay more $9.9 million to settle the claims. From that settlement fund, attorneys who brought the lawsuit would receive one-third of the money, or nearly $3.3 million.
The remainder of the funds, after paying settlement administration costs, would be divided among members of the plaintiffs class, which would include everyone who scanned a fingerprint at an Illinois Octapharma location in the past few years.
According to documents filed in support of the settlement, the parties estimate that will include more than 76,000 people.
If every donor had submitted a valid claim, each could collect about $84. But in her order approving the settlement, Judge Kendall said 22% of eligible class members submitted valid claims. Based on estimates in prior filings in the case, that could mean those class members may receive more than $800 each.
Any uncashed or rejected checks from the settlement would be paid to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
“The Court finds that the consideration to be paid to Settlement Class Members is reasonable, considering the facts and circumstances of the claims and defenses available in the Action and the potential risks and likelihood of success of alternatively pursuing litigation on the merits,” Kendall wrote in her order granting final approval to the settlement.
According to its website, Octapharma operates five Illinois plasma donation sites, including sites in Chicago, Riverside, Melrose Park and Bridgeview.
Plaintiffs have been represented by attorneys J. Eli Wade-Scott and Schuyler Ufkes, of Edelson, PC, of Chicago, and David Fish, of Fish Potter Bolaños, PC, of Naperville.
Octapharma has been represented in the case by attorneys Daniel T. Graham, Timothy R. Herman and Jeffrey M. Sniadanko, of the firm of Clark Hill PLC, of Chicago.