A subpoena was issued Wednesday for University of Arkansas football Coach Houston Nutt’s computer hard drive in a lawsuit that alleges e-mail harassment of a former quarterback, an attorney in the case said. Fort Smith attorney Eddie Christian Jr. said subpoenas were issued for the hard drives for the business and personal computers used by Nutt and Teresa Prewett, a Little Rock physical therapist who is a Nutt family friend.

Christian represents John David Terry, a Mount Ida man who on Tuesday sued UA Chancellor John A. White and UA System President B. Alan Sugg, saying they failed to investigate a harshly critical email Prewett sent in December to freshman quarterback Mitch Mustain.

The suit was filed in Washington County Circuit Court. Nutt and Prewett aren’t named in the suit.

Christian said he wants to examine any e-mail correspondence between Nutt and Prewett, as well as any e-mail from their computers regarding the Mustain situation.

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Prewett sent an e-mail to an account used by Diana Nutt, the coach’s wife, and other Nutt family members, the suit states. Someone from that account then disseminated Prewett’s e-mail to others.

Mustain asked for and was released from the team in January.

“It’s not every day when a close confidant of the head coach of a major college Division I football team starts sending hate email to the quarterback, copying it to an account the head coach has access to, and then someone there copies the e-mail to the public,” Christian said Wednesday. “It’s a bizarre situation.”

Terry, 42, graduated in 1986 from UA with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Terry has been following the e-mail situation through news accounts for several months, Christian said, and they have been discussing whether to sue for some time.

“You will find many Razorback fans like Mr. Terry who are upset about how this situation was handled,” Christian said.

Terry was a UA football season ticket holder, Christian said, and has given money to the Razorback Foundation. Terry didn’t return a phone call left at his home.

The suit says White’s failure to investigate the situation means he’s not doing his job and shouldn’t be paid. Sugg is a defendant because he is responsible for White receiving his $ 265, 000 salary, the suit claims.

The suit is a “public-funds exaction” case, which contends tax dollars are being “waste, misused, misapplied and wrongfully or illegally spent.” UA receives income from state appropriations, which in part are derived from taxpayer revenue, the suit states.

“It’s not the classic taxpayer exaction case where a taxpayer is saying this tax is not legal,” Christian said. “This is where a taxpayer is saying money is being wasted because a public official isn’t doing his job.”

UA released a statement Wednesday denying the suit’s allegations.

“It is disappointing that more University resources and taxpayer dollars will be expended to address rumors and accusations involving the athletic department, which is a self-supporting entity,” the statement from UA Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations Tysen Kendig says. “Although the defendants have not yet been formally served with court papers, we strongly believe that this is a frivolous lawsuit having no merit whatsoever, and the University will defend against it vigorously.”

The suit says White is responsible for ensuring UA complies with NCAA rules. Nutt failed to follow a rule to provide a harassment-free environment for Mustain, the suit claims.

White has a fiduciary duty to taxpayers and student athletes to perform his duties to the best of his ability, the suit claims.

The suit seeks a judicial order to force White to conduct a “good-faith and complete” investigation. It seeks an injunction to stop Sugg from paying White his salary, and it seeks an accounting to determine how much money has been misspent and how much could be reimbursed to taxpayers. The suit does not seek monetary damages.

“The remedy is a full-scale investigation into the e-mail campaign that Ms. Prewett engaged in an effort to harass a student athlete,” Christian said. “We believe Chancellor White hasn’t performed his officials duties in this matter, and if he continues not to do his duty he shouldn’t be paid taxpayer money.”

In January, Mustain’s mother, Beck Campbell, sent several emails to White requesting his review and assistance regarding Prewett’s e-mail.

White called Prewett’s writings “filth” that wouldn’t be tolerated, and he promised to investigate.

Instead, the suit claims, White referred the matter to Nutt.

Nutt gave Prewett an official reprimand and barred her from the sidelines, and Prewett apologized for the e-mail.

White had a responsibility to initiate an independent investigation, rather than let Nutt investigate a family friend, the suit claims.

In an open letter issued last week, Nutt said he didn’t know about the e-mail until after it was sent.

“Once again, for the record, I had no prior knowledge of that email and promptly reprimanded Ms. Prewett when I learned of the correspondence,” Nutt wrote. “I have respect for Mitch Mustain and wish him the very best in the future.” Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.