Samsung: Apple case juror was biased
Samsung has revealed its tactics for fighting its billion dollar courtroom loss to Apple: and it’s getting personal. Before appealing the verdict, Samsung is trying to get the verdict thrown out on the grounds of juror bias.
The tactic first came to light last week when Samsung started filing documents citing previous cases where juror misconduct had led to cases being reheard. At that point it appeared the company would point to post-trial interviews by jurors and suggest they had effectively admitted not judging the case properly. In those filings Samsung warned its attempts to follow this up could “subject all of the jurors to extra-judicial scrutiny and public criticism which they may find unwelcome and intrusive.”
Now it seems Samsung is changing its argument from general incompetence to individual bias. It’s pointing the finger at jury foreman Velvin Hogan who was asked during jury selection whether had had been involved in a lawsuit.
According to Samsung, Hogan failed to mention that he had been sued by a former employer, Seagate in relation to his filing for bankruptcy. Samsung notes that not only does it have a “substantial strategic relationship” with Seagate, but that the lawyer who filed the case against Hogan is married to the lawyer who represented Samsung in the Apple trial. Samsung also says Hogan’s post trial comments suggest he lied so that he could get on the jury.
Hogan denies lying: he says the judge only asked about lawsuits in the past 10 years and that the case in question took place in 1993. According to Hogan, it’s so odd that Samsung has only just spotted the connection with his prior case that he’s wondering if the company deliberately let him take the juror position just so they’d have a ready-made excuse if they lost the case.
At the time of writing Samsung hadn’t addressed any of Hogan’s comments, including on the timing issue.
