Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL): Samsung Raises Doubts about Jury Foreman in August Patent verdict

In a show of aggression, Samsung Electronics has asked Judge Lucy Koh to throw out the patent violations verdict against it arrived at by a jury in August, that awarded Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) more than a billion dollars in damages.

On Wednesday, Samsung targeted the foreman of the jury which had delivered the damaging verdict, favouring Apple and holding Samsung of violating patents and copying the designs of the iPhone maker.

The foreman was Velvin Hogan, a 67-yers old retired engineer who had been selected as he had served on a number of jury trials of a similar nature and knew more about patents than anyone else on the jury panel.

Samsung had conducted an investigation into the past of Hogan and made the following claims about the engineer:

Will AAPL Hit $1000 This Year? Find Out Here

Hogan, it said, didn't tell the judge he had been sued in 1993 by Seagate, a company with close ties to Samsung and Samsung's legal team.

Hogan didn't disclose the personal bankruptcy he had to file as a result of that suit.

He also made public statements after the verdict that suggests he failed to answer the court's questions truthfully in order to "secure a seat on the jury."

However Samsung may find it difficult to convince Judge Koh about throwing out the verdict and could have actually prejudiced its own case.

According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt in CNN Money - "There is hostility from courts, prosecutors and former jurors towards investigators and attorneys inquiring into and raising potential acts of jury misconduct. Thus, these claims are often difficult to litigate and are frequently controversial, striking at the heart of the American system of justice."