The hotly contested case centres on a crash involving the former Victorian premier and Melbourne man Ryan Meuleman.
Mr Meuleman launched the Federal Court action against Mr Andrews and his wife Catherine in November, claiming they defamed him in a joint statement.
The statement followed two 2024 newspaper articles related to a 2013 crash involving Mr Meuleman and the Andrews.
The incident, and the events that followed it, have been widely referred to as the 'bike boy' scandal.
Mr Meuleman, who was 15 at the time, was knocked off his bike at Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula in a collision with Mr Andrews' 4WD.
Catherine Andrews was driving at the time, while Mr Andrews and their three children were passengers.
Mr Meuleman, who had to undergo surgery for serious injuries, has always claimed the Andrews' car was speeding at the time of the collision.
Mr Andrews has maintained it was actually the young cyclist who was moving at speed before being T-boned by the car.
No charges were laid over the crash and the police were cleared of any wrongdoing.
But in September 2024, the Herald Sun reported a review into the collision stated police had engaged in an "overt cover-up" and Mr Andrews' story was "deeply flawed".
In response to the articles, the Andrews released a joint statement saying they did nothing wrong and they would not dignify the "appalling conspiracy theories" by commenting further.
Mr Meuleman claimed the statement was likely to cause or has caused serious harm to his reputation.
In documents filed to the Federal Court, he said the Andrews' conduct was improper and he deserved aggravated damages for the "substantial hurt, distress and embarrassment" he suffered.
In a defence filed this week, the Andrews denied the defamation claim and pointed to the numerous public statements they have made about the collision.
"At no stage did Mr Meuleman sue or threaten to sue the respondents for defamation in relation to any of the respondents' previous public statements," their defence states.
The Andrews allege Mr Meuleman launched the legal proceedings as a way to court public and media attention around the collision, rather than to seek vindication for his reputation.
They also claim the purpose of the case was to gather evidence that could be used in a private criminal prosecution against the Andrews.
A case management hearing in the matter has been set down for March.
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