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FLINT, MI -- A federal judge says she wont allow testimony about whether employees of two engineering companies being sued by Flint residents drank city water while they worked as consultants here.

U.S. District Judge Judith Levy made the ruling in an opinion filed Sunday, Feb. 13, saying that she will also exclude testimony about whether other government and high-profile public figures, including former President Barack Obama, drank Flint water during the citys water crisis.

The bellwether trial that pits four Flint children who claim they were damaged by Flint water against two water consultants that advised the city on its water system is scheduled to start Tuesday, Feb. 15, in Ann Arbor.

Against this minimal relevance (in support of allowing such evidence), the Court must weigh the substantial potential for delay, confusion, and waste of time that would be risked by the introduction of this evidence, Levy wrote in part of her six-page decision.

Discussion of any employees alleged consumption of Flint River water would inevitably create lengthy factual disputes -- why did they drink the water? How much? How often? Did they believe it to be safe, or did they think the health risk was an acceptable one? Would they have believed it to be safe for chronic consumption by children? What is their tolerance for risk related to nonbiological toxins in water? And so forth.

Such disputes would derail the trial and divert attention away from the real issue of negligence, Levy wrote. The probative value of such evidence, if any, is therefore greatly outweighed by its potential to waste time and cause undue delay.

Attorneys for the four children -- identified in court filings by their initials as A.T., D.W., E.S., and R.V. -- filed the motion in December, asking Levy to preclude any reference to Flint water consumption by employees of Veolia North America and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam as well as government officials and other high-profile persons.

Veolia, LAN and related companies are defending themselves against the lawsuits after declining to join in a $626-million partial settlement of Flint water litigation brought by attorneys for residents against the state of Michigan, city of Flint, McLaren Regional Hospital and Rowe Professional Services.

Although Veolia does not plan to use any evidence of President Obamas drinking city of Flint water in 2016, according to Levys opinion, the company sought to reserve the right to consider whether the Obama evidence is relevant.

The judges ruling says the issue involving the former president is moot because there is no plan to introduce it. LAN joined VNA in its opposition to the motion by the four children.

During a visit to Flint in May 2016, Obama drank what he said was filtered Flint water, calling the water safe for most of the citys population provided it was filtered.

Related: President Obama drinks filtered Flint water during water crisis visit

VNA and LAN were hired by the city of Flint to advise it on water issues after emergency managers appointed by former Gov. Rick Snyder made a series of decisions that led the city to disconnect from the Detroit water system and to use the Flint River as the citys temporary water supply in parts of 2014 and 2015.

Flint failed to treat the river water to make it less corrosive to lead in transmission pipes and in fixtures inside homes, allowing lead to leach into the citys water supply.

LAN performed work as a consultant as the city transitioned to Flint River water and continued to advise the city on water quality issues during the resulting water crisis. VNA also performed water consultancy work, but only after the transition occurred and only for a limited time -- from early January 2015 to March 2015.

An advisory from the federal court says the jury trial in the bellwether case is expected to last approximately four months and involve testimony from scores of witnesses.

The trial, which will be decided by 10 jurors, is being called a bellwether because it could help others with water crisis claims decide whether to proceed to trial against the engineering companies.

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Originally posted here:
President Obama had a drink of Flint water, but judge says its not relevant to bellwether trial - MLive.com