Less Hair
Yes, and yes (although there is more to say in order properly to contextualize the lawsuit as such).
Sully is indeed one of the five experts in the independent group assembled by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs are Flyers Rights Education Fund, Inc. (usually just "FlyersRights"), and Paul Hudson. Quoting from the legal brief filed in late December at the start of the lawsuit (p. 4):
"FlyersRights is the largest nonprofit airline passenger organization in the U.S., with over 50,000 members nationwide. A main activity of FlyersRights is disseminating information to airline passengers about developments in commercial aviation affecting them and about their rights. The organization’s website provides extensive information about passenger rights; it operates a toll-free hotline for airline passengers; and it has published extensive reports and information about regulatory issues affecting airline passengers including, recently, a white paper on the 737 MAX situation. FlyersRights also advocates for the rights and interests of airline passengers. FlyersRights’ president, Plaintiff Paul Hudson, sits on the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee." (p4 citations omitted)
The purpose of the lawsuit is, according to the same legal brief (filed in support of the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, sought to force FAA to disclose documents far more rapidly than would ordinarily be the case):
"The protection of millions of airline passengers and tens of thousands of crew members requires that independent experts, the media and the public be able to assess the proposals made and information submitted to the FAA by Boeing and any factual analysis undertaken by the FAA. As detailed below, it would be impossible for independent technical experts to evaluate any FAA decision to unground the 737 MAX unless they can obtain access to the technical submissions made by Boeing. FlyersRights itself, whose president, Plaintiff Paul Hudson, sits on the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, also needs this information urgently in order properly to perform his responsibilities as a member of that Committee and in order for FlyersRights to perform its mission of educating and informing the flying public." (p. 2)
In addition to the esteemed Sully, the other four experts are (again, from the opening legal brief), Javier de Luis, Michael Goldfarb, Gregory Travis, and Michael Neely. (No other descriptive information is included here out of an excess of caution, inasmuch as these experts' respective credentials and qualifications speak for themselves.)
As noted by this SLF/attorney in some previous post IIRC, the lawyers representing the plaintiffs happen to be heavy D.C. hitters on the Democratic Party side, and whether that affects how the litigation has been conducted to date, and further how in the future it might be conducted more favorably to the interests sought to be advanced by the lawsuit, is a non-forum drifter's inquiry mindset. Probably.