In an order filed Friday evening, U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal asked Samsung and its lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to explain why they should not be sanctioned for violating a protective order meant to guard confidential information turned over in discovery. Scores of Samsung employees apparently gained access to Apple secrets—including details of a licensing agreement with Nokia—after lawyers at Quinn Emanuel failed to redact sensitive information from an expert report, according to court papers.
As the parties probed the breaches, Samsung insisted that its own confidential information must be handled with care, citing attorney-client privilege and work-product protections. Grewal conducted an extensive in camera review of Samsung documents before ruling.
