Astonishing legal threat over bombshell audio of Dan Andrews’ Triple-O call after bicycle crash that left teen in a coma

Lawyers acting for a teenage cyclist who claims he was hit by ex-Victorian Prime Minister Dan Andrews’ car have mocked contempt of court threats over a leaked recording.

The audio of the triple-0 call Mr Andrews made after the family car collided with a cyclist was released last month and made national headlines.

Mr Andrews was state opposition leader when the SUV – in which he, his wife and their three children were traveling – crashed with teenage cyclist Ryan Meuleman near Blairgowrie, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, on January 7, 2013.

Mr Andrews has always maintained that his wife, Catherine, was driving and came to a complete stop when Mr Meuleman, then 15, crossed through their Ford territory.

On the controversial call, Mr Andrews told the operator: ‘We’ve hit him.’

Mr Meuleman is now suing law firm Slater & Gordon, which represented him after the crash, for allegedly failing to act in his best interests when negotiating an $80,000 compensation settlement with the Transport Accident Commission.

Slater & Gordon denies the claims and made a veiled claim on Wednesday that Mr Mueleman’s new legal team had leaked the recording to the media, sparking an angry response.

“As officers of the court, we were concerned to bring this potential misuse of a potential document subject to a Harman Undertaking to the court’s attention,” a lawyer acting for Slater & Gordon told the court. Supreme Court of Victoria.

James Catlin, for Mr Mueleman, denied his company was behind the alleged leak, and suggested Slater & Gordon would either file a contempt application or backtrack.

“What’s really behind this is a dog whistle suggestion that someone has committed contempt,” he said.

“So if they want to file a contempt summons, they should file a contempt summons instead of being willing to injure but afraid to strike.

‘I don’t know if this is an attempt to intimidate just before the mediation, but there is no application before you. There is only a vague implication which is probably an invitation to impose some burden on my client, who is with Centrelink.”

Mr Catlin said the fact that major media organizations had made the recording public had nothing to do with him, adding that it was in itself a “major matter of public interest”.

“I don’t know why Slater & Gordon and the insurer don’t make inquiries with these media,” he said.

“My instructor has already indicated that she has not violated any obligations.”

Mr Catlin said coming to court to discuss the complaint further increased the costs for his struggling client.

‘I demand that no further action be taken. If they want to file a contempt summons, they should do so,” he said.

Ryan Meuleman is recovering in hospital after the crash

Mr Andrews’ damaged car after Mr Meuleman came into contact with it

The court heard the recording had been circulated to stakeholders in the case, including government agencies, for months before it appeared on the news.

“I don’t know if there is any suggestion that this is a forensic closure of the gate we had in May, it was made public at the end of October and therefore it is our fault,” Mr Catlin said.

“I just don’t know what this is, what the defendant is doing here, but it’s costing us… I’m not sure what the defendant is asking for when they say, ‘We want to make sure everyone is here. same page forward”.

“That’s just word salad.”

Judicial registrar Natalie Burgess agreed with Mr Catlin and essentially asked Slater & Gordon to ‘put up or shut up’.

“Mr. Catlin has a point,” she said. ‘It is not clear to me whether the suspect chooses a certain course for the court. A timetable has been set.

‘If your customer wants to make a specific request, I will create a timetable for that request today.’

Slater & Gordon’s lawyer responded: ‘According to the defendant, this is a matter for the court to consider and there is certainly no need to insist on such a request today.’

Ms Burgess declined to comment further on the matter and suggested both sides continue with their work.

‘I have no desire to give parties instructions about their obligations as practitioners. I think they understand them,” she said.

The case will now move to a mediation hearing in the hope that it can be resolved before the trial date of May next year.

Former Premier Dan Andrews has kept Victorians in lockdown longer than anyone else during the Covid-19 pandemic

The incident involving Mr Andrews has been circulating for more than a decade.

When emergency services arrived on scene, Ms Andrews was not given a breath test.

Mr Andrews also told police in a statement less than a month after the accident: ‘I want to make it clear: the cyclist hit our vehicle.’

But questions have been raised about the lead-up to the crash and the police’s handling of the situation after a report released in September this year found the investigation was ‘deeply flawed’.

Mr Andrews denounced what he called “terrible conspiracy theories” following the assessment by former police assistant commissioner Dr Raymond Shuey, which was commissioned by Mr Meuleman’s lawyers.

Ryan’s father Peter Meuleman said the report “sheds a whole new light on what happened to his son.”

Mr Meuleman said that the report of Dr. Shuey “contradicts the police report of what happened and contradicts Daniel and Catherine Andrews’ version of events.”

“We hope Victoria Police will reopen the case and investigate the matter thoroughly,” he added.

Although Peter said that “a lot of old wounds have largely healed” in the 13 years since the crash, the family felt at the time that they “didn’t really get justice.”