Lawyers acting for a teen cyclist who claims he was hit by ex-Victorian Premier Dan Andrews’ car have scoffed at contempt of court threats over a leaked recording.
Audio of the triple-0 call made by Mr Andrews 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 – carrying him, his wife and their three children – was in an accident with teenage cyclist Ryan Meuleman near Blairgowrie, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, on January 7, 2013.
Mr Andrews has always maintained his wife, Catherine, was driving and came to a complete stop when Mr Meuleman, then 15, T-boned their Ford Territory.
The controversial call captured Mr Andrews telling the operator: ‘We 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 interest when it negotiated an $80,000 compensation settlement with the Transport Accident Commission.
Slater & Gordon denies the claims and on Wednesday made a veiled allegation that Mr Mueleman’s new legal team had leaked the recording to media, sparking a furious response.
Former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and wife Catherine. Mr Andrews was captured on audio declaring, ‘we hit him’
‘As officers of the court we were concerned to bring this potential misuse of a potential document that is subject to a Harman Undertaking (a compulsory obligation) to the court’s attention,’ a lawyer acting for Slater & Gordon told the Supreme Court of Victoria.
James Catlin, for Mr Mueleman, denied his firm was behind the alleged leak, suggesting Slater & Gordon either make a contempt application or back down.
‘What is really behind this is the dog whistle suggestion that someone has committed contempt,’ he said.
‘So if they want to bring on a contempt summons, they should bring on a contempt summons rather than being willing to wound – but afraid to strike.
‘I don’t know if this is an attempt to intimidate just prior to mediation, but there is no application before you, there’s just this vague implication which presumably is an invitation to place some burden on my client, who is on Centrelink.’
Mr Catlin said the fact major media organisations had disclosed the recording had nothing to do with him, adding it in itself was a ‘significant matter of public interest’.
‘I don’t know why Slater & Gordon and the insurer aren’t making inquiries of those media outlets,’ he said.
‘My instructor has already indicated that she has not breached any undertaking.’
Mr Catlin said coming to court to discuss the gripe was adding to the cost burden on his struggling client.
‘I seek that no further steps be taken. If they wish to bring on a contempt summons they should do so,’ he said.
Ryan Meuleman is pictured 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 distributed among interested parties in the case, including government agencies, for months before it appeared on the news.
‘I don’t know if this is suggested to be some forensic closing of the gate that we had it in May, it’s produced in late October publicly therefore we are to blame,’ Mr Catlin said.
‘I just don’t know what this is, what the defendant is doing here, but it is costing us … I’m not sure what the defendant is asking for when they say, “We want to make sure everyone is on the same page moving forward”.
‘That’s just a word salad.’
Judicial registrar Natalie Burgess agreed with Mr Catlin, effectively asking Slater & Gordon to ‘put up or shut up’.
‘Mr Catlin has a point,’ she said. ‘It’s not clear to me whether the defendant is moving the court for any particular course. There’s a timetable that’s set.
‘If your client is seeking to make a particular application then I will make a timetable today for that application to be made.’
Slater & Gordon’s lawyer responded: ‘In the defendant’s view that’s a matter for the court to consider about and is certainly not pressing for such an application today.’
Ms Burgess refused to entertain the matter any further, suggesting both parties get on with the job at hand.
‘I’m not minded to make any directions to the parties about their obligations as practitioners. I think they understand them,’ she said.
The matter will now proceed to a mediation hearing in the hope it can be resolved before its trial date of May next year.
Former Premier Dan Andrews locked down Victorians longer than anyone else during the Covid-19 pandemic
The incident involving Mr Andrews has been swirling about for more than a decade.
When emergency services arrived at the scene, Mrs Andrews was not breath tested.
Mr Andrews also told police in a statement less than a month after the crash: ‘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 handling of the situation after a report released in September this year showed that the investigation was ‘deeply flawed’.
Mr Andrews slammed what he called ‘appalling conspiracy theories’ after the review by former police assistant commissioner Dr Raymond Shuey, who was commissioned by Mr Meuleman’s lawyers.
Ryan’s father Peter Meuleman said the report shed ‘a whole new light on what happened’ to his son.
Mr Meuleman said Dr Shuey’s report ‘contravenes the police report of what happened and contravenes Daniel and Catherine Andrews’ version of events’.
‘We are hoping Victoria Police will reopen the case and re-investigate the case thoroughly,’ he added.
Although Peter said a ‘lot of old wounds have mostly healed’ in the 13 years since the crash, the family felt at the time they ‘did not really get justice’.
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