It will be interesting (to this SLF/attorney, at least) to see whether the lawsuit against the FAA in Washington, D.C. federal district court, which seeks disclosure by FAA of substantially all the documents FAA has received from Boeing regarding the return to service of the 737 MAX aircraft, will try to add this recent report to its arguments. The lawsuit is filed under the FOIA, Freedom of Information Act.
It was filed by an affiliate of the Flyers' Rights advocacy group (Flyers Rights Education Fund, Inc). a little more than a year ago. Capt. Sullenberger is the most prominent of the group of expert consultants the advocacy group assembled. Both sides in the case have filed motions for summary rulings by the court and it appears the briefing on these motions was completed a few days before Christmas. (The judge's staff surely had a magnificent holiday break, neck-deep in legal papers.)
Pierson's report certainly appears to support the basic argument in the lawsuit, namely that the FAA decision process about the return to service cannot be evaluated properly unless and until substantially all the documents received from Boeing are disclosed to a suitably qualified public interest advocacy group (the Flyers Rights expert consultants).