GM CEO Barra to be questioned over defective switches

Associated Press

DETROIT

General Motors CEO Mary Barra will be questioned this fall by lawyers suing GM over its defective ignition switches.

Barra is one of 35 current and former GM employees who will be questioned, attorney Bob Hilliard said Thursday. The depositions begin May 6 with the questioning of GM customer- experience chief Alicia Boler- Davis. Barra’s deposition, scheduled for Oct. 8, would be the last.

Hilliard sued GM last July on behalf of people who were injured or killed in crashes purportedly caused by faulty ignition switches. A trial is scheduled for January 2016 in U.S. District Court in New York.

The switches could slip into the “off” position, disabling power steering and air bags. The lawsuit alleges GM knew about the defective switches as early as 2001 but didn’t recall any cars until last year.

Barra told Congress she learned about the defective switches in December 2013, a month before GM began recalling 2.6 million affected vehicles.