Rebuttal Testimony of Polumbo
ORA and TURN also move to strike the Rebuttal Testimony of John Polumbo, at Answers 9-11, based on the argument that it offers expert opinions, not fact. ORA and TURN argue that this testimony should be stricken unless these witnesses determine that they can qualify as experts.
ORA and TURN move to strike Polumbo's Answer 10, to the effect that "AT&T has little ... future competitive significance in the mass market," and that "AT&T's current position in the mass market is in no way a harbinger of AT&T's future significance as a competitor for mass market services." ORA and TURN argue that Answer 10 should be excluded as expert opinion about future occurrences because it is not percipient testimony. Polumbo is neither a lawyer nor an economist (his testimony asserts a BA degree in Social Sciences, further study in education, and a "MS degree in Management"). ORA and TURN assert that he is not in any event being offered as an expert.
For the same reasons, ORA and TURN move to strike Polumbo's Answer 11, rebutting economist Selwyn's expert testimony by asserting that there will be "No ... competitive void in the market ... when AT&T disappears as a stand-alone long-distance service." Likewise, they move to strike his Answer 9, in which he states that there is "No ... basis for Commission to Conclude that AT&T Remains a Significant Competitor to SBC in Consumer and Small Business Local Exchange and Toll Market."
Applicants respond that Polumbo's testimony is proper percipient witness testimony that satisfies the Commission's standards.
Applicants argue that Polumbo's twenty years' experience in the telecommunications industry, including senior executive positions, prior to his service at AT&T, fully qualify him to discuss AT&T's position in the consumer marketplace. Applicants argue that a witness that has experience, education, training or other qualifications may offer a relevant opinion that is based on matters personally observed.8
8 California Practice Guide: Civil Trials and Evidence §8:625.
