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Judge sets discovery and trial logistics in Edenville litigation; offers courtroom space for expert depositions
Summary
At a May 5 status conference in Grand Rapids the court warned counsel to resolve expert-discovery disputes or be prepared to attend six days of in-person depositions in May, outlined exhibit and trial-day logistics, and said an oral ruling on pending motions will be issued May 12.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — During a status conference following oral arguments on pending motions, Judge James R. Redford outlined near-term procedures for expert discovery and trial preparation in the litigation over the Edenville Dam failure and Wixom Lake.
Redford told counsel that he had cleared multiple days in May for compulsory expert discovery if the parties fail to reach a mutually satisfactory plan. "If the attorneys do not come up with a plan that is mutually satisfactory to both sides, the court is going to order that the lawyers and any expert witnesses who need to be deposed be in this building those 6 days with a court reporter to complete all expert discovery," the judge said. He listed six dates in May on the record and asked counsel to check their calendars.
The court offered the defendants' litigation room and asked staff to find comparable space for plaintiffs if those deposition days become necessary. Redford said the court prefers that discovery disputes be resolved without repeated motions and warned that court time spent resolving avoidable disputes may be charged back: "If the lawyers can't resolve their discovery issues, the party that loses will be paying the cost to the people of the state of Michigan to have a court of claims judge spend an hour, 2 hours, 5 hours."
On scheduling for trial, Redford laid out his expected daily hours and logistical requirements. He proposed trial days beginning at 8:30 a.m., a morning session until noon (with a 15-minute break), a 60-minute lunch, and an afternoon session from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with a 10-minute recess). The judge said parties should expect to provide agreed exhibits in advance (physical binders and digital copies) and submit lists of witnesses and proposed findings of fact and law ahead of trial. He said counsel should be prepared for a multiweek bench trial and indicated a likely start date of Jan. 12, 2026, while noting calendar conflicts that could cause adjustments.
Redford also addressed discovery- and privilege-log disputes. He reviewed the parties' privilege-log submissions and emphasized the need for parties to focus on what is truly material given the cost and time of extended discovery. "When I look at privileged log disputes, I think to myself...what does success look like?" he said, urging attorneys to weigh the likely value of contested material before pushing every dispute to the court.
The judge confirmed he will announce his opinion on the pending motions by Zoom on May 12 at 3:30 p.m. and enter a written order thereafter. He recessed the afternoon session and scheduled additional status conferences as needed.
The status conference included discussions about production of models and files used in expert analyses (defendants agreed to provide certain modified models), witness scheduling and logistics for a large number of plaintiffs' counsel and experts, and courtroom layout and IT preparations for a multiweek proceeding.
