Judge stays discovery in Rogers v. Nvidia voice-data class action pending ruling on motion to dismiss

What happened

On 25 September 2026, Judge Thomas M. Durkin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted Nvidia's motion to stay discovery in Rogers, et al. v. Nvidia Corporation (Case No. 1:26-cv-05478, filed 12 May 2026), pending the court's ruling on Nvidia's motion to dismiss. Seven Illinois residents — broadcast journalists, podcasters and voice actors — allege that Nvidia extracted their voiceprints from publicly posted audio and video without the notice or consent Illinois law requires, and used them to develop its Magpie TTS, PersonaPlex and FUGATTO voice-AI products. The complaint pleads claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, the Illinois Right of Publicity Act and consumer-fraud law. In granting the stay, the court observed that the plaintiffs could have sought emergency relief if immediate discovery were essential. The stay is a procedural ruling, not a decision on the merits.

Why it may matter to you

The case is one of nine coordinated Rogers suits filed in May 2026 against major AI developers over voice data used in training; the stay pauses evidence-gathering on how the voiceprints were collected and used while the dismissal fight plays out.

What is not yet known

Whether the complaint survives the motion to dismiss; what discovery will show about the voice-data pipeline.