Media Groups File Lawsuit Against Governor For Public Records

A coalition of media outlets and nonprofits are suing North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and the heads of several state agencies. It alleges that they've violated the state's open records laws.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior court.

It alleges that since McCrory took office in 2013 “he and his Cabinet have violated the Public Records Law regularly and repeatedly.”

For example, Indy Week says it took more than a year for McCrory's office to provide his travel records.

According to the Charlotte Observer, who is also a plaintiff in the case, the lawsuit also seeks policies that would prevent excessive fees for locating, retrieving and copying public records.

They also want prompt responses to future public records requests.

Gov. McCrory's Office calls the lawsuit frivolous.

"This administration is a champion of transparency and fair and legitimate news gathering. Fulfilling records request is a vital part of meeting those goals," says McCrory.

In a press release, he says the lawsuit is an attempt by some members of the media and political organizations to exploit the public records law with duplicative records requests that "gum up the day to day operations of state government."

Besides Indy Week and the Charlotte Observer,  the list of plaintiff's in the case include The News & Observer, Capitol Broadcasting, WNCN, Southern Environmental Law Center, The Alamance News and the North Carolina Justice Center.

*Follow Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news