Daniel Andrews has engaged one of Australia’s most expensive silks in a bid to keep secret his phone records from the day of a near-fatal 2013 car crash with a teenage cyclist.
Philip Crutchfield KC – who charges up to $25,000 a day – will lead Mr Andrews’ attempts to fight a Supreme Court subpoena.
The hearing before Associate Justice Melissa Daly will be held on Monday morning.
High-profile lawyer Leon Zwier, of major law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, is also representing the former premier and wife Catherine Andrews in the marathon dispute.
Daniel Andrews has engaged Philip Crutchfield KC who is one of Australia’s most expensive silks. Picture: Getty
Mr Andrews was slapped with a subpoena outside his Mulgrave home in March requiring him to produce a series of documents relating to the January 2013 day of the crash.
Lawyers for Ryan Meuleman, who was 15 when he was struck by the Andrews family’s SUV in Blairgowrie, are seeking to establish who Mr Andrews spoke to – and when – amid concerns of interference after the collision.
But the Andrews’ legal team will argue that the subpoena is “a fishing expedition”.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Brett Curran – Mr Andrews’ chief of staff at the time of the incident – has declined to clarify if he received any calls from the then opposition leader from the crash scene.
