A young cyclist who was involved in a collision with former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and his wife is being sued for more than $200,000 in unpaid legal fees amid fresh allegations that he made ‘thank you’ payments to witnesses.

Ryan Meuleman allegedly owes at least $204,000 to Griffins Lawyers for work on his case in 2024-25, according to recent documents filed in the South Australian Supreme Court.

The firm represented Mr Meuleman as part of a Victorian Supreme Court case and also proposed defamation action against the former Premier.

When he was 15, Mr Meuleman was seriously injured after Andrews’ wife Catherine collided into him in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula in 2013.

A proposal for a defamation action against the former Premier had been drafted by Griffitns Lawyers over a statement released by the couple in 2024.

In the statement, Andrews and his wife had said his allegations were ‘conspiracy theories dressed up as journalism’ and that ‘we did nothing wrong’.

Media outlets later repeated parts of that statement and Mr Meuleman argued it had damaged his reputation.

The case is still underway in the Federal Court of Australia, remains pre-trial stages, and has not gone to a full trial.

Ryan Meuleman (pictured after the 2013 crash)  is being sued by Griffins Lawyers for $204,000 over alleged unpaid legal fees

Daniel Andrews and his wife, Catherine, had been previously sued by Mr Meuleman over  the 2013 crash

Griffins Lawyers said it had prepared amended court documents, negotiated with other lawyers, undertaken trial preparation and had drafted defamation notices for Mr Meuleman’s case between 2024 and 2025, The Herald Sun reported.

Two invoices of $189,022.02 and $14,927 remain unpaid for this work, the law firm alleged.

Mr Meuleman also allegedly breached a retainer agreement when he stopped paying his legal fees, according to the lawsuit, which also claims that he spent thousands paying witnesses for the trial.

It is alleged Mr Meuleman, along with Rohan Wenn and Colin Robertson, delivered ‘thank you payments’ to witnesses in the litigation through funds donated to him.

These funds came from a GoFundMe, which Mr Meuleman launched to help pay for his legal fees.

One expert witness received $10,000, while three others were given individual payments of $1,000 each, Griffins Lawyers alleged.

Mr Meuleman had allegedly promised the lawyers that these funds would instead be used to pay for their services.

The firm believed these assurances were true and continued working for him during this time, they claimed.

Mr Meuleman set up a GoFundMe for his legal fees, which was allegedly used to pay witnesses

Daniel and Catherine Andrews continue to deny any wrongdoing in the crash, which left Mr Meuleman with serious injuries

Mr Meuleman was 15 when he was hit by Andrews’ wife, who had been behind the wheel of the family SUV. Her husband and their three children were also in the car.

Andrews was the Victorian opposition leader at the time and became Premier one year later.

He won three consecutive state elections before his shock departure from politics in September 2023.

Years of debate have taken place since, with both sides arguing about the circumstances leading to the crash.

Investigations into what happened have taken place but no definitive answer haste been found

Mr Andrews and his wife continue to maintain their denial of any wrongdoing.

The couple broke their silence when they finally lodged their defence with the Federal Court of Australia after Mr Meuleman sued the pair.

The couple claim they haven’t defamed Meuleman while also contending that, even if the joint statement caused serious harm to Mr Meuleman’s reputation, they were themselves subjected to a media witch hunt, which could mitigate any alleged damages.

The Andrews alleged in their defence that at ‘relevant times since at least 2022’ Meuleman ‘sought to court public and media attention and publicity in relation to the collision’.

The couple’s SUV (above) sustained major damage

The Andrews also alleged Meuleman sought to ‘inflict reputational damage on the respondents in relation to the collision’ and ‘advance the personal or political agendas of members of the Meuleman Cohort’.

‘It is to be inferred that Mr Meuleman commenced this proceeding or is maintaining this proceeding in whole or in part for one or more of the following collateral purposes, rather than to seek vindication of his reputation or a solatium for injured feelings,’ the Andrews’ defence states.

It’s also alleged by the couple that Meuleman is using the defamation proceeding to ‘seek evidence (including via cross-examination of the respondents) for use… in a private criminal prosecution against the respondents’.