Vending

Compass Group, 365 Retail Markets settle consumer privacy lawsuit for $6.8 M

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November 1, 2021

Compass Group USA Inc. and 365 Retail Markets LLC agreed to pay $6.8 million to resolve a lawsuit claiming they collected fingerprint data from vending machine customers without providing proper notice and consent, according to a Reuters report.

The companies denied wrongdoing and liability, according to the documents filed Thursday in Illinois federal court.

The companies reached an agreement with plaintiffs in a suit brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which is considered one of the strictest consumer privacy laws. Lawsuits have been brought under the law against several companies, including Facebook, which settled a suit for $650 million last year.

Compass lawyers filed a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement Thursday which was not opposed.

The agreement will resolve claims that the defendants unlawfully gathered biometric data from customers who scanned their fingerprints while using the vending machines.

365 Retail Markets chose not to comment when contacted by Vending Times Monday.

Compass Group USA did not respond to a request to comment at the time of this report.

Plaintiff Christine Bryant, a former call center employee, sued Compass in state court in 2019 after scanning her fingerprints on Compass vending machines.

The case moved to federal court and to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year. The Circuit Court in part found the claims sufficient enough to establish federal court standing.

365 Retail Markets was added to the suit in June.