Plaintiffs seek to exclude Independent Forensic Team opinions; defense says report is central evidence

In a Dec. 5 hearing in the Court of Claims, plaintiffs moved to exclude what they described as testimonial opinions and conclusions in the Independent Forensic Team (IFT) report. Plaintiffs told Judge Redford they would admit raw facts and data (lake levels, lab results, field measurements) but not the report’s engineers’ deliberative conclusions when those authors are not testifying or when the authors’ methodologies were not disclosed in expert disclosures.

Plaintiffs cited People v. Fackelman and Michigan evidentiary rules to argue that treating‑psychiatrist–style diagnoses and opinions are inadmissible hearsay if the author does not appear for cross‑examination. Counsel said several IFT authors — listed in briefs as John France, Ifran Alvey, Arthur Miller, Jennifer Williams and Steve Higginbotham — have not produced individual expert reports or disclosed the principles and methods that generated the report’s conclusions.

Defense lawyers countered that the IFT report is a foundational industry document relied upon by plaintiff and defense experts and by federal agencies; they said some IFT authors could be called to testify and that facts and data in the report are undisputed. Nathan Gamble noted that plaintiffs’ experts themselves relied on the IFT report in depositions and that the residual‑hearsay exception or will‑call testimony could preserve the report’s use.

Judge Redford pressed both sides on what discovery steps they took, including efforts to depose federal or third‑party contributors and whether the parties sought judicial assistance to compel evidence. He emphasized the distinction parties were urging — admitted facts and data versus excluded testimonial diagnoses or opinions — and said he would address the issue in a written opinion next week rather than rule from the bench.

Next steps: counsel should be prepared to identify which IFT authors will testify or to identify the precise portions of the report they seek to admit; the court asked for final exhibits and witness logistics to be ready for the January schedule.