Prosecutor Sean Fagan has taken legal action against the Board of County Commissioners in LaPorte Circuit Court, seeking access to his predecessor’s email records stored on county-owned servers.

The lawsuit was filed by the Indiana attorney general’s office on Fagan’s behalf and has been assigned to the Bopp Law Firm in Terre Haute.

The Times of Northwest Indiana reports that Fagan’s request for the emails was previously denied. That led to the suit, which states the emails are the property of the prosecutor and the commissioners don’t have the authority to withhold access.

Failure to comply with the prosecutor’s email request is alleged to constitute official misconduct, classified as a Level 6 felony under Indiana law. .