After being grilled by legislators regarding the delayed recall of vehicles with faulty-ignition switch in April, GM chief executive Mary Barra will return to court to defend the company's decision to retain its top lawyer and to limit the compensation program for victims.
According to a Businessweek report, CEO Barra explained she couldn't let go of General Counsel Michael Millikin because of his key role in the company. The lawmakers wanted to dismiss GM's top lawyer because the company is allegedly using him as a defense against suits filed by the customers.
"He has tremendous global experience as it relates to the legal profession. He's the person I need on this team. He had a system in place. Unfortunately, in this instance, it wasn't brought to his attention, frankly, by people who brought many other issues forward. He is a man of high integrity and he is the right person," Barra said before the panel.
In addition, GM's CEO refused the expansion of the compensation program of the recall victims and added that the company will no longer share internal documents for the investigation, the New York Times reported. The company previously announced a compensation plan for victims of 2.6 million defective vehicles. Drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and occupants of other vehicles who crashed in the defective vehicles are covered.
The lawmakers threw more criticisms on CEO Barra.
"You've provided answers that, I think, for me are unsatisfactory," said Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and one of GM's harshest critics.
Meanwhile, General Counsel Michael Millikin said he will announce the results of the investigation on whether the legal department delayed the recalls, Reuters reported. The investigation was made by an unidentified outside firm. He didn't mention the name of the firm but hinted that it is a well-respected firm in the United States.
