California judge warns Apple, Samsung to follow court rules

Two days ahead of the first post-trial hearing in the patent infringement fight between Apple and Samsung, a California judge has signaled to lawyers for both companies that she expects them to follow her instructions and work by her rules.

In an order signed on Tuesday, Judge Lucy Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, admonished both sides for their filings with the court.

Judge Koh had previously imposed page limits on the filings each company could make as part of the post-trial process. Samsung was limited to a 35-page limit on its filing in opposition of the verdict and Apple to a 15-page response to Samsung’s filing. Each could file supporting documentation.

In her ruling at the time, Koh wrote: “The page limits set forth herein will be strictly enforced.”

“Any argument that is not explicitly articulated within the briefing page limits will be disregarded. Any supporting documentation shall be for corroboration purposes solely and shall not be used as a vehicle for circumventing the Court’s page limits. Any citations to the record must include the relevant testimony or exhibit language. Any single-spaced bullets in an attempt to circumvent the briefing page limits will be disregarded.”

So what happened?

“Despite this clear direction, both parties submitted voluminous documents with their post-trial motions,” Koh wrote on Tuesday’s order. “The Court plans to strike from the record all of the material submitted in violation of the Court’s Order.”

She gave lawyers for both companies until Friday to refile their documents in accordance with her rules.

Several times in the run up to the trial, Koh faced various tactics from lawyers to push, bend or run around her rules and she didn’t take them well, typically drawing a hardline and warning the lawyers to play by her rules in her courtroom.

The first post trial hearing in the case, 11-01846 in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, is scheduled for Thursday.