Apple Asks Court to Severely Sanction Samsung

Apple has asked Judge Lucy Koh to impose a sanction against Samsung as a punishment for trying to pollute the jury pool. A sanction is simply a penalty or other means of an enforcement in return for disobeying the law.

Apple told the court that Samsung is using "litigation misconduct" as a strategy, and that declaring Apple's patents valid and infringed would be a suitable remedy, even though it is a significant sanction.

Apple is basing its plea for sanctions off of Samsung recently releasing evidence to the public that was previously banned from the trial.

Judge Koh was livid at Samsung for its actions, according to InformationWeek, especially after having to literally order Samsung attorney John Quinn to sit down after he kept asking her to allow the evidence after the issue was already decided.

Allthingsd reports that Apple wouldn't request a mistrial, because that would essentially reward Samsung for their misbehavior. Below is an exert from Apple's legal team.

Samsung already has been sanctioned four times in this case for discovery abuses (see image at right). Most recently, Samsung was sanctioned for destroying evidence. Litigation misconduct is apparently a part of Samsung's litigation strategy - and limited sanctions have not deterred Samsung from such misconduct.

Now, with so much at stake, Samsung has taken the calculated risk that any sanctions arising from its attempt to influence the jury with its excluded arguments are a price it is willing to pay.

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The proper remedy for Samsung's misconduct is judgment that Apple's asserted phone design patents are valid and infringed. Through its extraordinary actions yesterday, Samsung sought to sway the jury on the design patent issues, and the proper remedy is to enter judgment against Samsung on those same patents.

It would be, to be sure, a significant sanction. But serious misconduct can only be cured through a serious sanction-and here, Samsung's continuing and escalating misconduct merits a severe penalty that will establish that Samsung is not above the law.

While it is unlikely the request will be granted, Apple is still looking for the Judge to instruct to Samsung that they have engaged in "serious misconduct"

via MacObserver