Samsung seeks Apple retrial after jury bias

Samsung is demanding a retrial after their high-stakes US$1bn patent loss to Apple, citing jury bias for the verdict.

The South Korean company made the filing yesterday, arguing the jury foreman, Velvin Hogan, never told the court he was sued for a breach of contract by Seagate in 1993, a company in which Samsung is a major investor.

Hogan subsequently filed for personal bankruptcy as a result, with the electronics giant believing such ill-feeling could have influenced the verdict during the case.

"Mr. Hogan's failure to disclose the Seagate suit raises issues of bias that Samsung should have been allowed to explore in questioning," Samsung says.

"Mr. Hogan's public statements suggest that he failed to answer the court's question truthfully 'in order to secure a seat on the jury,' in which case bias is presumed.

Adding further fuel to the fire, the attorney who sued Hogan nearly 20 years ago on behalf of Seagate is married to a partner at Quinn Emanuel, the law company representing Samsung.

Such revelations seriously bring into question the credibility of the trial, but Hogan was quick to defend himself, telling Bloomberg:

"Had I been asked an open-ended question with no time constraint, of course I would've disclosed that," he says.

"I'm willing to go in front of the judge to tell her that I had no intention of being on this jury, let alone withholding anything that would've allowed me to be excused.

The controversy is the latest in a long line of dramas bringing the rival companies to war with Samsung not yet responding to a comment on its filing, while Apple declined to provide one entirely.

Does Samsung have a case? Was the trial biased? Tell us your thoughts below