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Elle se doutait que l'expertise était tout à fait fausse.

Elle se doutait que l'expertise était tout à fait fausse.
She suspected that the appraisal was completely false.
From Lesson 396:Douter vs. se douter (douter que / se douter que)·French

Questions & Answers about Elle se doutait que l'expertise était tout à fait fausse.

Why is était in the indicative here instead of the subjunctive?
Because the verb is se douter que (to suspect), not douter que (to doubt). While douter que expresses doubt and triggers the subjunctive, se douter que expresses a strong belief or suspicion that something is true, so it takes the indicative.
Does l'expertise mean "expertise" (as in skill or knowledge) here?
No, it is a false friend! In this context, l'expertise refers to an "appraisal", "expert assessment", or "valuation". If you want to talk about someone's skill or knowledge, you would usually use le savoir-faire or les compétences.
What does tout à fait mean, and why doesn't it change to match the feminine noun l'expertise?
Tout à fait is a fixed adverbial phrase meaning "completely", "entirely", or "quite". Because it acts as an adverb modifying the adjective fausse, it is invariable and never changes its spelling to match gender or number.
Why are both verbs (se doutait and était) in the imperfect tense?
Both describe ongoing, background states in the past. She held the suspicion (se doutait) over a period of time, and the appraisal being false (était) was a continuous state. If she had suddenly formed this suspicion at a specific moment, French would use the passé composé instead (elle s'est doutée).

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