The complaint filed Monday in Wake County Superior Court asks a judge to declare that Easley violated the law because his staff told cabinet agency employees to delete or destroy e-mails sent to and from the governor's office.
The lawsuit stems from accusations made by a former spokeswoman at the Department of Health and Human Services. Debbie Crane accused the governor's press office of directing that such e-mails be deleted.
Easley and his attorneys have said there's no evidence that such a systematic destruction occurred.
