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“So lawyers have to plead every contingency, regardless of whether it doesn’t seem nice, because if we don’t plead it, we can’t ask the questions.”

A statement of defence filed on behalf of Jared Dejong, the driver who struck Christidis, made the same allegations in response to the lawsuit.

It’s an absolutely standard defence and I’ve done hundreds of wrongful death cases over my career Mark Harrington

But Western says it wasn’t consulted on the contents of its statement of defence.

“Western does not support certain contents of that statement of defence. As a consequence, legal counsel at Black Sutherland will represent Western in this matter going forward and a new statement of defence will be filed on Western’s behalf in the coming weeks,” the university said in a statement, calling Christidis’s death a “terrible tragedy.”

“Our deepest sympathy goes out to Andrea’s family and friends and all those impacted by her death.”

Harrington said he didn’t clear the statement of defence with Western because it’s not a common practice in his field.

“When you have insurance, the insurance company gets to make decisions as to how the case is defended, that’s the deal,” he said. “You never clear the defence with the insured. I’ve never done that in my career.”

Western officials declined an interview request Tuesday, citing the ongoing litigation.

Christidis, who was just one month into her studies at Western, died in hospital two days after being struck by a vehicle while walking on campus at night. Dejong had spent the evening drinking with friends at the campus bar, The Spoke, before getting into his father’s Volkswagen Golf to drive to a friend’s place, a court heard at his trial.