- Dan Andrews’ Wife Set to Hand Over Phone Records
- Ms. Andrews was driving an SUV when she hit the cyclist
- The case is before the Supreme Court of Victoria
- READ MORE: Tucker Carlson Criticizes Dan Andrews
Former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and his wife Catherine have changed their minds about the inappropriateness of releasing phone records from the day a cyclist was injured.
Ryan Meuleman is suing law firm Slater & Gordon, alleging the firm failed to act in his best interests when negotiating an $80,000 settlement with the Transport Accident Commission.
The then-teenage cyclist was injured when he collided with an SUV driven by Ms. Andrews in January 2013.
The case returned to the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday as the Andrews were expected to challenge a subpoena for phone records related to the collision.
But Judge Melissa Daly was told an agreement had been reached whereby the former prime minister and his wife would only hand over documents from the day of the crash, January 11.
Mr Meuleman’s lawyer, James Catlin, said he had expected the hearing to be “intense”, but the Andrews indicated at 8.05am that they would no longer contest the case.
“They were still protesting until 4pm yesterday, it was only at 8am today that we received any correspondence,” he said.
Mr Catlin said Andrews’ decision to hire top executive Philip Crutchfield KC was a signal that the summons hearing would be strongly objected to.
Former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has agreed to hand over phone records from the day his wife Catherine and a cyclist collided, just hours before a key court hearing
Premier Daniel Andrews’ Ford Territory car after the crash with Ryan Meuleman in 2013. Photo: Supplied
The court was told the summons for documents was originally served in February and sought approximately 11 years of phone records from the Andrews.
In the months that followed, this period was shortened, first to six months, later to one month, until Mr Meuleman finally requested only the day of the crash.
Sebastian Campbell, representing the Andrews, told Judge Daly it was appropriate that his clients initially refused to hand over the requested documents, calling it “oppressive”.
The agreed documents must now be handed over to Mr Meuleman’s lawyers by 25 July at the latest.
Judge Daly said the evidence was “abundant” that Monday’s hearing was unnecessary. He questioned why the Andrews took two weeks to confirm they would accept the revised summons.
She ordered the Andrews to pay Mr Meuleman’s legal costs relating to Monday’s hearing.
The judge ruled that it was reasonable for the Andrews to initially object to the summons and ordered Mr Meuleman to pay the costs incurred during the negotiations up to and including 25 June.
Mr Meuleman was in hospital for eleven days after the accident and received compensation in 2016.
He now claims that Slater and Gordon failed to fully investigate the circumstances of the crash.
Ryan Meuleman after his accident. The then 15-year-old was seriously injured. Photo: Supplied
Mr Meuleman’s father, Peter, praised the progress as ‘a step in a long struggle’
Mr Meuleman claims he was hit just after 1pm in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, while Mr Andrews maintains their car was hit by the cyclist.
“The cyclist was driving at high speed and hit our car very hard, exactly at a right angle. I want to make it clear: the cyclist hit our vehicle,” he told police after the incident.
Outside the courtroom, Mr Meuleman’s father, Peter, praised the progress as “a step in a long struggle”.
“It’s going to be a long road for us, but we’re ready for the fight and I want to thank everyone who has supported us and believed in us,” he said.
He said his family was trying to gather as much evidence as possible as they felt the initial police investigation had not properly investigated the incident.
“It’s taken its toll on Ryan and we’re trying to protect him as much as we can… Yeah, it’s an expensive ride and we’ll stick with it as long as we can,” he said.