Samsung Claims Jury Foreman Misconduct in Apple Patent Case, Wants a New Trial
Samsung owes Apple in the neighborhood of a billion dollars after a jury found the company guilty of copying the look and feel of Apple devices and running afoul of several design patents. The high profile trial was rarely without drama, often times at the dismay at Judge Lucy Koh, who warned both companies on numerous occasions to shape up and quit with the antics. The trial is over now, but as predicted, Samsung isn't done fighting. What's surprising is Samsung's strategy.
In a court filing, Samsung has requested a new trial due to jury misconduct. In particular, Samsung accuses a single juror of lying during the jury selection process.
"The jury foreman, Velvin Hogan, failed to answer truthfully during voir dire. Asked by the Court whether 'you or a family member or someone very close to you [has] ever been involved in a lawsuit, either as a plaintiff, a defendant, or as a witness?' he disclosed one such lawsuit but failed to disclose two others, including one in which he was sued by his former employer, Seagate, for breach of contract after he failed to repay a promissory note, and filed for personal bankruptcy six months later," Samsung wrote in the filing. "Samsung has a substantial strategic relationship with Seagate, which culminated last year in the publicized sale of a division to Seagate in a deal worth $1.375 billion, making Samsung the single largest direct shareholder of Seagate. The attorney who sued Mr. Hogan on Seagate’s behalf is the husband of a Quinn Emanuel partner. Mr. Hogan’s failure to disclose the Seagate suit raises issues of bias that Samsung should have been allowed to explore in questioning and that would have triggered a motion to strike for cause or a peremptory strike."
Samsung goes on to accuse Hogan of other shenanigans designed to secure a seat on the jury, including "self-reported conduct during the jury deliberations." In short, Samsung says Hogan lied about his past, potentially affecting the outcome of the trial, and thus wants a new one.
Hogan has a different story. In a phone interview with Businessweek, Hogan says the court instructed potential jurors to disclose any litigation they were involved in during the past 10 years, but says his 1993 bankruptcy and other litigation with Seagate didn't fall within that time frame.
In a court filing, Samsung has requested a new trial due to jury misconduct. In particular, Samsung accuses a single juror of lying during the jury selection process.
"The jury foreman, Velvin Hogan, failed to answer truthfully during voir dire. Asked by the Court whether 'you or a family member or someone very close to you [has] ever been involved in a lawsuit, either as a plaintiff, a defendant, or as a witness?' he disclosed one such lawsuit but failed to disclose two others, including one in which he was sued by his former employer, Seagate, for breach of contract after he failed to repay a promissory note, and filed for personal bankruptcy six months later," Samsung wrote in the filing. "Samsung has a substantial strategic relationship with Seagate, which culminated last year in the publicized sale of a division to Seagate in a deal worth $1.375 billion, making Samsung the single largest direct shareholder of Seagate. The attorney who sued Mr. Hogan on Seagate’s behalf is the husband of a Quinn Emanuel partner. Mr. Hogan’s failure to disclose the Seagate suit raises issues of bias that Samsung should have been allowed to explore in questioning and that would have triggered a motion to strike for cause or a peremptory strike."
Samsung goes on to accuse Hogan of other shenanigans designed to secure a seat on the jury, including "self-reported conduct during the jury deliberations." In short, Samsung says Hogan lied about his past, potentially affecting the outcome of the trial, and thus wants a new one.
Hogan has a different story. In a phone interview with Businessweek, Hogan says the court instructed potential jurors to disclose any litigation they were involved in during the past 10 years, but says his 1993 bankruptcy and other litigation with Seagate didn't fall within that time frame.
