It also claims city officials are aware of the issue and have not taken actions to resolve it.
The alleged damages exceed $25,000, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiff of the case, Mike Doherty Sr., said he was ticketed by the city in December 2008 for over-occupancy of one rental house and one duplex and was fined about $300,000. He said he was unaware of the issue until the city notified him, and the fines had begun months in advance because of illegal searches of the mailboxes at the homes.

Assistant City Attorney Tom Yeadon, who is representing the city in the case, said he hasn’t had a chance to read through every allegation in the lawsuit yet, but doesn’t believe the lawsuit is entirely accurate and said allegations are false.

“It’s the same alleged conduct, alleged over and over again,” Yeadon said.

Mike Doherty Sr. said the issue likely was not limited to his rental properties and hopes the lawsuit will bring the city’s alleged activities to light.

“This has been going on for many, many years — I’m just trying to put a stop to what East Lansing can do,” Mike Doherty Sr. said.

The son of Mike Doherty Sr., Mike Doherty Jr., said he was a victim of an alleged mailbox search in December 2008 and is listed in the lawsuit as a reference. He claims he was on the way out of his home one night when he caught a man quickly walking away from his mailbox.

“(He was) obviously illegally going through my mailbox,” Mike Doherty Jr. said.

He said he believes the mailbox issue has gotten out of control.

“It’s gotten to the point where it’s just not fun to live in the city anymore,” Mike Doherty Jr. said. “(It’s) good to see somebody finally standing up to things and trying to make things right again.”

Mike Doherty Sr. said he made formal complaints to members of the East Lansing City Council in September 2009 but never received a response.

Yeadon said the complaints made by Mike Doherty Sr. should have been raised when he was fined by the city in 2008.

“If he had issues with the propriety of the information gathering (or with) how the city behaved, he should have raised it at that time,” Yeadon said.

Jeffrey Hank, one of Mike Doherty Sr.’s attorneys, said this case will encourage people who think they have been wronged by the city to come forward.

“People will start coming out of the woodwork,” Hank said. “We think (the lawsuit) is sort of scratching the surface.”

Staff writer Emily Wilkins contributed to this report.