Two months after Lumber Liquidators’ (Toano, Va.) compliance officer resigned, the company has hired a new one—Jill Witter.
Witter has been consulting with Lumber Liquidators since July. Ray Cotton, the company’s previous compliance officer, had quit in June.
Witter’s official title is chief compliance officer and legal officer. She will direct all aspects of legal matters, including complex litigation management, compliance and compliance program development, quality assurance and public affairs for the company.
Witter’s background includes serving as general counsel at Rayonier Inc. and the Forest Resources Division of the International Paper Company. She was also the general counsel and ethics and compliance officer for Novation LLC when the company was named to the Ethisphere Institute’s list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.
Tom Sullivan, founder and acting CEO, said in a statement that Witter will help strengthen the company’s compliance programs and reinforce its commitment to uncompromising integrity in how it conducts business.
Meanwhile, the number of Lumber Liquidators lawsuits consolidated for pretrial preceedings has gone from 10 to 135 since June, according to lawyersandsettlements.com. The lawsuits pertain to allegations made by “60 Minutes” in March about the health risks posed by the company’s Chinese-made laminate flooring products.
