The Simmons v. Motorola Solutions settlement is a $47.5 million class action resolution over allegations that Motorola Solutions and its subsidiary Vigilant Solutions violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) through their FaceSearch facial recognition tool. A Cook County judge granted final approval on August 20, 2025, and payments to approved claimants were scheduled for distribution on February 6, 2026.1Simmons BIPA Settlement. Final Approval Order2Simmons BIPA Settlement. Simmons BIPA Settlement Homepage
Who Was Covered
The settlement class was defined broadly. It included anyone whose face appeared in images processed by FaceSearch technology at any point through April 9, 2025, provided the person was an Illinois resident or was physically present in Illinois when the images were taken or processed.1Simmons BIPA Settlement. Final Approval Order
That reach extended beyond arrestees. It covered people whose photos sat in the booking-photo databases Motorola and Vigilant built, photos uploaded by law enforcement, and even images used to train or test the FaceSearch system.1Simmons BIPA Settlement. Final Approval Order
How Much Claimants Receive
Individual payments come out of the $47.5 million fund on a pro rata basis, after legal fees and administrative costs are deducted. Before final approval, the estimated per-person payment ranged from roughly $200 to $550, depending on the number of valid claims filed.3Simmons BIPA Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions
The court approved $16,150,000 in attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses for class counsel, and each of the two class representatives received a $7,500 incentive award.1Simmons BIPA Settlement. Final Approval Order Epiq Systems is administering the settlement, including check distribution.4ClassAction.org. Simmons v. Motorola Solutions Settlement Agreement
Checks expire 90 days after they are issued, so any claimant who receives one needs to cash it promptly.3Simmons BIPA Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions
What the Lawsuit Alleged
FaceSearch was marketed to law enforcement agencies as an affordable facial recognition tool. It worked by building a database of photographs, primarily police booking photos, and running facial recognition against that gallery to identify individuals.5Loevy & Loevy. Motorola Class Action4ClassAction.org. Simmons v. Motorola Solutions Settlement Agreement Motorola Solutions acquired Vigilant’s parent company, VaaS International Holdings, for $445 million in January 2019.6Motorola Solutions. Motorola Solutions Acquires VaaS International Holdings
The plaintiffs alleged that collecting, storing, and using biometric data from Illinois residents’ booking photos violated BIPA’s requirements for written notice and consent, its rules on public retention and destruction policies, its prohibitions on profiting from biometric data, its restrictions on disclosure, and its data-protection obligations.4ClassAction.org. Simmons v. Motorola Solutions Settlement Agreement BIPA allows damages of $1,000 to $5,000 per violation.7American Bar Association. Historic Biometric Privacy Settlement
What made this case unusual is that it targeted facial recognition used on law enforcement booking photos, not consumer products or social media. BIPA does not explicitly regulate law enforcement use of facial recognition, but the plaintiffs argued that the vendors supplying the technology to police still had to comply with BIPA’s consent, disclosure, and retention rules.4ClassAction.org. Simmons v. Motorola Solutions Settlement Agreement Motorola Solutions and Vigilant Solutions denied all allegations of wrongdoing.5Loevy & Loevy. Motorola Class Action
Where Things Stand
The claims portal is closed and no longer accepts submissions. The deadline to file a claim was July 29, 2025, and the deadline to opt out or object was July 8, 2025.3Simmons BIPA Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions8Simmons BIPA Settlement. Submit a Claim Anyone who missed those deadlines cannot participate now, and the final approval order permanently bars class members from bringing the released claims against the defendants.1Simmons BIPA Settlement. Final Approval Order
Opposition was minimal. As of August 11, 2025, no class member had requested exclusion, and the single objection submitted arrived nearly a month late and was neither filed with the court nor served on the parties’ lawyers as required.9Simmons BIPA Settlement. Declaration of Cameron R. Azari Judge Joel Chupack of the Circuit Court of Cook County found the settlement “fair, adequate, reasonable, and entered into in good faith,” overruled all objections, and dismissed the case with prejudice.1Simmons BIPA Settlement. Final Approval Order