Court Grants Motion to Amend Complaint in Biometric Privacy Case Against El Milagro, Inc.

In a recent development, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has granted a motion to amend the complaint in a class action lawsuit against El Milagro, Inc. The lawsuit, filed by Jacinta Castro, alleges that El Milagro violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by improperly gathering employees’ biometric data through its timekeeping technology.

Castro sought to add a new named plaintiff, Serapio Chavez, to the case. El Milagro opposed this motion, arguing that the proposed amended complaint failed to state a plausible claim and that Castro’s delay in moving to amend her complaint was unduly prejudicial. However, the court rejected these arguments and granted Castro’s motion to amend.

The court found that the proposed amended complaint provided sufficient notice of the claims and their factual bases. It also noted that the allegations related to El Milagro’s state of mind were not required at this stage of the proceedings. Furthermore, the court did not find undue delay or prejudice in granting the motion to amend, considering that the motion was filed four months before the amended pleading deadline and that this was the first motion to amend.

This ruling allows the case to proceed with Chavez as an additional named plaintiff. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the enforcement of biometric privacy laws.