Samsung Claims Jury Misconduct In Apple v Samsung
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
The famous courtroom drama that unfolded this summer between Apple and Samsung isn’t completely over. It’s likely it won’t be over for a while. The newest page to be turned over in this case is a matter of jury misconduct, an issue Samsung is most unpleased with. Last month, Samsung asked for the entire verdict be thrown out because the jury foreman didn’t disclose he had once filed for bankruptcy and been sued by Seagate, a company which works closely with Samsung. Now, Judge Lucy Koh issued a court filing in which she says she will “consider the questions” from Samsung as to whether Velvin Hogan disclosed this information during the jury selection process.
“Mr. Hogan’s failure to disclose the Seagate suit raises issues of bias that Samsung should have been allowed to explore,” Samsung said when they filed their request in early October.
Judge Koh will now hear these questions on December 6 and determine if Hogan concealed any information and, if so, if this constitutes misconduct in the jury.
“An assessment of such issues is intertwined with the question of whether and when Apple had a duty to disclose the circumstances and timing of its discovery of information about the foreperson,” wrote Judge Koh in her filing.
Samsung also says Hogan made some statements to the media once the verdict had been handed down which made them wonder if he had answered the jury selection questions honestly.
Samsung is also saying that Hogan is married to an attorney who works for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the law firm which represented Samsung in this case.
Hogan has denied any misconduct, saying the court only asked potential jurors to disclose any involvement in litigation in the past ten years. His lawsuit occurred in 1993, well outside of that timeline.
“Had I been asked an open-ended question with no time constraint, of course I would’ve disclosed that,” said Hogan, speaking with Bloomberg in October.
“I’m willing to go in front of the judge to tell her that I had no intention of being on this jury, let alone withholding anything that would’ve allowed me to be excused.”
Hogan’s electrical engineering experience is what caused the other jurors to vote him foreman and, according to Hogan, he’s the only one who voted against this decision.
According some law experts, it’s difficult to have a verdict overturned due to alleged juror misconduct. The American court system doesn’t ask how jurors reach their decisions, and doesn’t allow legal counsel to do so, either.
“You’re looking for material or something else that wasn’t introduced at trial, such a juror reading reports about the case and they’re being influenced by outside forces,” said Brian Love, a professor of law at Santa Clara University, speaking with GoMoNews.com.
Hogan has also said he suspects Samsung knew about his involvement with Seagate and his marriage to one of the attorneys and chose not to say anything as “an excuse for a new trial if it didn’t go in their favor.”
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2012-11-10 16:31:56
Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112729191/samsung-apple-lawsuit-jury-misconduct-111012/
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