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Samsung's juror misconduct argument will not result in a new trial with Apple

Samsung's juror misconduct argument will not result in a new trial with Apple

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Samsung had hoped allegations of juror misconduct would win it a do-over in the Apple v. Samsung case, but tonight Judge Lucy Koh put those aspirations to rest by denying its request. Samsung had accused jury foreman Velvin Hogan of intentionally hiding information about a lawsuit he was involved in with Seagate. Samsung recently became a primary shareholder of the company, providing Hogan a reason to be biased. As such, the company had asked for an evidentiary hearing — in which all of the jury members would be brought back to the courtroom to be questioned about what impact Hogan had on deliberations — as well as a new trial.

In tonight's court filing, Judge Koh wrote that the discovery problem was the fault of Samsung's legal team. Hogan admitted he worked for Seagate during the jury selection process, she wrote, providing Samsung with ample opportunity to discover the litigation if the company's team had "acted with reasonable diligence."

Koh said Samsung couldn't have it both ways

As for Samsung's charges that Hogan's post-trial interviews revealed he had unfairly swayed the jury, Koh pointed out that said interviews are barred when considering an evidentiary hearing unless they proved Hogan had introduced "outside knowledge specific to the facts of this case" during the jury's deliberations. Samsung itself never made such a claim in its arguments and briefings to the court. Koh also called the company's legal team out for praising the jury, only to now blame misconduct for ruining its chances. "Samsung cannot credibly claim that the jury's conduct was simultaneously worthy of such great praise and so biased as to warrant a new trial," Koh wrote.

While Koh's order is not necessarily surprising — the Hogan argument was always somewhat of a Hail-Mary pass — it's no doubt a disappointing end to an angle that Samsung had been pursuing vigorously (attorney John Quinn himself raised the issue at the end of the hearing between the two companies earlier this month). With Koh also denying Apple's request for a permanent sales ban tonight, neither side is getting exactly what they wanted, but it's not over yet. Koh has yet to rule on either additional damages for Apple or Samsung's request to decrease what the jury already granted. We'll bring you the latest when she does.