Apple Claims it Was Unaware of Jury Foreman’s Lawsuit

Since the $1 billion ruling hit the company, Samsung has been continuously struggling to raise doubts about the jury’s patent infringement verdict. The most interesting thing of all — and the most provocative — is the South Korean manufacturer’s claim that the jury’s decision was tainted because the jury foreman, Velvin Hogan, withheld information about his involvement in a lawsuit with Seagate, a Samsung partner.

Samsung even went beyond that and suggested that Apple was aware of this issue right from the start, so it requested that the Cupertino company disclose what it knew. Apple’s response came late on Friday, when its lawyers submitted a filing, reported by BusinessWeek, which says:

“Apple has not identified any Apple attorney or other member of the Apple litigation teams who was aware that Mr. Hogan had been a party to lawsuits involving Seagate until after the conclusion of trial, when Samsung raised the matter in connection with its post-trial motions,” Apple said in its filing as cited by BusinessWeek.

In addition, Apple took the opportunity to smash the relevance of Velvin Hogan’s lawsuit with Seagate in its case against Samsung.

“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. 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,” as cited by CNET.