Apple Scoffs at Samsung Claim of Jury Foreman’s Bias in Patent Trial

Samsung’s claim that the $1 billion jury verdict awarded Apple in August was tainted by the misconduct of a jury foreman is not only toothless, but immaterial to the case. That’s Apple’s take on allegations that Velvin Hogan, the jury foreman in its patent case with Samsung, withheld from the court information about a lawsuit he was involved in with Seagate, one of Samsung’s partners.

In a court filing, Apple answered Samsung’s request for information about Hogan’s background, denying any prior knowledge of the litigation in question. And it dismissed as silly its rival’s contention that Hogan’s spat with Seagate, which pushed him into bankruptcy, had any bearing on the case at all.

“Apple does not accuse juror Velvin Hogan of misconduct — because there was none — so what Apple knew and when regarding Mr. Hogan’s lawsuit with Seagate nearly two decades ago is irrelevant to any issue raised by Samsung’s post-trial motions,” the company said in its filing. “Apple does not contend that any past relationship between Mr. Hogan and Seagate, or any lawsuit between them, is anything remotely close to support a challenge for cause.”

Apple’s position is understandable. Hogan’s spat with Seagate is quite dusty, and its connection to the Samsung case is tenuous. That said, Hogan didn’t explicitly mention that he was party to a lawsuit with Seagate when asked by the court during the jury selection process. Are those two things together enough to make a strong case the verdict should be thrown out over misconduct? We may find out come Thursday, when U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh holds a hearing to determine the answer to that very question.

Samsung declined comment on Apple’s filing.