A federal court has agreed to investigate whether the foreman of the jury in the Apple v. Samsung patent infringement suit concealed information during the jury selection process.
Judge Lucy Koh issued a filing this week to say she would "consider the questions" as to whether Velvin Hogan didn't disclose important information about his past, according to CNet. Samsung has complained that Hogan didn't disclose during jury selection that he was sued by his former employer, Seagate, which has a "substantial strategic relationship" with Samsung.
Samsung first lodged the complaint about Hogan in October. The Korean technology company asserted that Hogan, who filed for bankruptcy in 1993 because of his litigation with Seagate, may have colored the final verdict that went in Apple's favor.
Now, Koh will hold a hearing on Dec. 6 to determine whether Hogan concealed information, and whether that constituted misconduct among 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," Koh wrote in her filing.
Author Greg Sandoval noted that during voir dire in Apple v. Samsung, Hogan did, in fact, disclose that he had been involved in litigation with a former partner. The foreman also noted that the judge didn't ask for a complete listing of all lawsuits he's been involved in.
The jury ruled in August that Samsung had infringed on Apple's patented inventions. It awarded Apple nearly $1.05 billion in damages.