IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION

LAMARCUS VARNADO, individually, 

and on behalf of all other similarly 

situated, 

Plaintiff,

v.

WEST LIBERTY FOODS, LLC, an 

Iowa limited liability company, 

Defendant.

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Case No. _________ 

Judge: __________ 

NOTICE OF REMOVAL

Defendant WEST LIBERTY FOODS, L.L.C. (“WLF”), by and through its attorneys, 

respectfully removes the above-captioned matter from the Circuit Court of Will County, Illinois, 

to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 

1332(d)(2), 1441, 1446, and 1453(b). In support of its Notice of Removal, WLF states as follows:

BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

1. On February 11, 2020, Plaintiff Lamarcus Varnado filed his Class Action

Complaint (“Complaint”) against WLF in the Circuit Court of Will County, Illinois, Case Number 

20 L 124 (“State Court Action”). Plaintiff’s Complaint alleges class-wide violations of the Illinois 

Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq. 

2. Plaintiff served WLF with the Summons and Complaint on February 27, 2020.

Removal is therefore timely because this Notice of Removal is filed within 30 days after WLF’s 

receipt of service of the initial pleading setting forth the claims for relief upon which the action is 

based. See 28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)(1)(C). 

1:20-cv-02035

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3. Plaintiff is a citizen of the State of Illinois. Compl. ¶ 16.

4. WLF is a limited liability company organized under the laws of Iowa and with a 

principal place of business in West Liberty, Iowa. See Exhibit A, Decl. of D. Waters ¶ 3.

Accordingly, as discussed below, it is an Iowa citizen. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(10).

5. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), this Court is the proper venue for removal because 

this Court is the United States District Court for the district and division in which the State Court 

Action is pending.

6. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(a), a true and correct copy of all process, pleadings, 

and orders served upon WLF is attached hereto as Exhibit B.

7. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446(d), WLF is serving this Notice of Removal on 

Plaintiff’s counsel and filing a Notice of Filing Notice of Removal with the clerk of the Circuit 

Court of Will County, attaching a copy of this Notice of Removal.

JURISDICTION PURSUANT TO THE CLASS ACTION FAIRNESS ACT 

8. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) provides the statutory basis for 

original jurisdiction in federal court over putative class actions in which (1) the aggregate number 

of members in the proposed class is 100 or more; (2) the amount in controversy “exceeds the sum 

or value of $5,000,000, exclusive of interest and costs”; and (3) the parties are minimally diverse, 

meaning “any member of a class of plaintiffs is a citizen of a State different from any defendant.” 

See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(A), (d)(5)(B).

A. This Case is a Class Action, Which, as Pleaded, Involves More than 100 

Putative Class Members.

9. Plaintiff alleges that he is bringing claims on behalf of a proposed class which 

includes more than 50 members, comprised of “Defendant’s workers who scanned their 

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fingerprints in Defendant’s biometric time clock system in Illinois between February 5, 2015 and 

the present without first executing a written release.” Compl. ¶¶ 26, 28.

10. Plaintiff further alleges that those workers include both “direct employees” and 

“temporary staffing agency workers.” Compl. ¶ 4.

11. The number of WLF hourly production workers at WLF’s Bolingbrook, Illinois 

facilities who have enrolled in the electronic timekeeping system about which Plaintiff complains 

exceeds 1,600 persons. See Exhibit A, Decl. of D. Waters ¶ 4.

B. The Amount in Controversy Exceeds $5,000,000, Exclusive of Interest and 

Costs. 

12. For purposes of determining the amount in controversy under CAFA, “the claims 

of the individual members shall be aggregated[.]” 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(6).

13. Plaintiff’s Complaint alleges reckless violations of BIPA under 740 ILCS 

14/20(1)-(2), which carry statutory damages of $5,000 for “each violation.” Compl. ¶ 52; p. 

7(A); p. 9(A).

14. Plaintiff alleges multiple BIPA violations under 740 ILCS 14/15(b) and (a). Even 

if each class member is entitled to recover for only one such “violation,” recovery greater than 

the $5,000,000 jurisdictional threshold is not “legally impossible” (1,600 * $5,000 = 

$8,000,000). See Spivey v. Vertrue, 528 F.3d 982, 986 (7th Cir. 2008). Plus, these alleged 

damages are on top of Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees and costs. See Compl. pp. 7(C), 9(C).

C. The Parties are Diverse. 

15. WLF is a limited liability company, which is an “unincorporated association” for 

purposes of CAFA. Aliano v. Louisville Distilling Co., LLC, 115 F. Supp. 3d 921, 927 n.3 (N.D. 

Ill. 2015); see also Ferrell v. Express Check Advance of S.C., LLC, 591 F.3d 698, 700 (4th Cir. 

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2010) (“[A] limited liability company is an ‘unincorporated association’ as that term is used in 

28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(10).”); Exhibit A, Decl. of D. Waters ¶ 3.

16. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(10), an unincorporated association is a “citizen 

of the State where it has its principal place of business and the State under whose laws it is 

organized.” 

17. WLF is a limited liability company organized under the laws of Iowa and with its 

principal place of business in Iowa because its headquarters, which is the location from which 

company officers and top management provide direction to the rest of the organization, is in 

Iowa. See Exhibit A, Decl. of D. Waters ¶ 3.

18. Because WLF and Plaintiff are citizens of different States, the parties are diverse 

for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2)(A).

NON-WAIVER OF DEFENSES

19. WLF reserves the right to amend or supplement this Notice of Removal.

20. WLF submits this Notice of Removal without waiving any defenses to the claims 

asserted by Plaintiff or conceding that Plaintiff has pleaded claims upon which relief can be 

granted.1

 1 WLF also represents that Plaintiff’s claims sufficiently invoke federal Article III standing or, at the very 

least, if this issue is raised by Plaintiff or by the Court sua sponte, resolution should await the Seventh 

Circuit’s decision in Bryant v. Compass Group U.S.A., Inc., 20-1443 (2020).

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Dated: March 30, 2020 FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & 

REATH LLP

/s/ Gregory P. Abrams

Gregory P. Abrams, #6280767

gregory.abrams@faegredrinker.com

311 s. Wacker Drive, Suite 4300

Chicago, Illinois 60606

Telephone: (312) 212-6500

Facsimile: (312) 212-6501

Shannon L. Sole*

shannon.sole@faegredrinker.com

801 Grand Avenue, 33rd Floor

Des Moines, Iowa 50309

Telephone: (515) 248-9000

Facsimile: (515) 248-9010

ATTORNEYS FOR DEFENDANT 

WEST LIBERTY FOODS, LLC

*application for pro hac vice admission 

pending

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned attorney hereby states that on March 30, 2020 a true copy of the 

foregoing was filed using the CM/ECF Filing System, which will send an email notification to 

the attorneys listed below. The foregoing document will also be served via overnight delivery 

upon all attorneys of record.

/s/ Gregory P. Abrams

Copies to:

David Fish

John Kunze

Mara Baltabols

THE FISH LAW FIRM, P.C.

200 East Fifth Street, Suite 123

Naperville, Illinois 60563

dfish@fishlawfirm.com

mara@fishlawfim.com

docketing@fishlawfirm.com

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