Biometric Privacy Litigation and Coverage Disputes with John Leonard and Cort Malone

Concepts: Biometric Privacy Litigation, Biometric Privacy Violations, Coverage Disputes

Biometric data is big business. It many cases it even helps make our lives better.  It also presents  significant risks for a variety of parties, in addition to those of us who surrender our data. Companies collecting,  storing, utilizing, and monetizing the data face penalties and litigation bolstered by the increasing number of states enacting biometric information privacy acts, or BIPAs, the first of which was in Illinois.

Biometric information --  fingerprints, facial and retinal scans, and DNA -- it's all used in many ways we don’t even think about, like building security, banking access and online payments, smartphone access, patient identification in healthcare, employee tracking, law enforcement, air travel security and hotel check-ins, consumer tracking and customer experience analysis, border security, validating recipients of government welfare benefits, identifying students taking exams, and more.

I just finished hosting a webinar titled “Litigation After Biometric Privacy Law Violations” with attorneys John M. Leonard and Cort T. Malone of Anderson Kill. They spoke extensively about the state of biometric privacy litigation, the regulatory landscape,  insurance coverage considerations, and recent rulings. They're both shareholders at Anderson Kill and they are both graduates of the Fordham University School of Law.

John M. Leonard is co-chair of the firm's biometric liability group. He has recovered millions of dollars for policyholders in a full spectrum of insurance coverage matters, including disputes over business interruption, D&O and E&O, defense and indemnity, general liability losses, and environmental liability.

Cort T. Malone, chair of the firm's Biometric Liability Insurance Recovery Group, is an experienced litigator who focuses on insurance coverage litigation and dispute resolution, with an emphasis on commercial general liability insurance, cyber insurance, employment practices insurance, advertising injury, D&O, E&O, and property insurance. He's also a member of the firm's practice groups relating to restaurant, retail and hospitality; environmental law; cyber insurance recovery; and COVID litigation.

Following the webinar (coming soon to the West LegalEdcenter), Cort and John stuck around to answer some of my questions about a couple of recent cases I thought illustrated the types of underlying and coverage matters we’re seeing out there.

I hope you enjoy the episode. If so, give us a rating!

This podcast is the audio companion to the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation. The Journal is a collaborative project between HB Litigation Conferences and the vLex Fastcaselegal research family, which includes Full Court Press, Law Street Media, and Docket Alarm.

If you have comments, ideas, or wish to participate, please drop me a note at Editor@LitigationConferences.com.

Tom Hagy
Litigation Enthusiast and
Host of the Emerging Litigation Podcast
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John M. Leonard
Shareholder | Anderson Kill P.C.

John Leonard is a shareholder in Anderson Kill's New York, NY office and co-chair of the firm's Biometric Liability Group. He has recovered millions of dollars for policyholders in a full spectrum of insurance coverage matters, including disputes over business interruption losses, D&O and E&O defense and indemnity, general liability losses, and environmental liability. He is also a member of the firm's Corporate and Commercial Litigation Group and COVID Task Group.

Cort T. Malone
Shareholder | Anderson Kill P.C.

Cort T. Malone is a shareholder in the New York and Stamford offices of Anderson Kill and is the Chair of the firm’s Biometric Liability Insurance Recovery Group. Cort is an experienced litigator, focusing on insurance coverage litigation and dispute resolution, with an emphasis on commercial general liability insurance, cyber insurance, employment practices liability insurance, advertising injury insurance, directors and officers insurance, and property insurance issues. He is also a member of the firm's Restaurant, Retail & Hospitality, Environmental Law, Cyber Insurance Recovery, and COVID Task Force groups.

Cort also possesses extensive commercial litigation experience, including arbitration and alternative dispute resolution relating to a variety of tort, contract, and regulatory disputes. While attending the Fordham University School of Law, Cort was a member of the Fordham Moot Court Board and garnered several awards for both oral argument and brief writing skills at various inter- and intra-school competitions. He spent five years teaching a first-year Legal Writing course as an adjunct professor at Fordham Law.

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