Sullivan v. Banks
- Lewis Liman
- 1:24-cv-03251
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sullivan v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Liman ordered service of the amended complaint on Binong Xu.
Mark J. Sullivan, Binong Xu, the New York City Department of Education, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
In Sullivan v. New York City Department of Education; Binong Xu, Mark J. Sullivan alleges that the defendants denied him access to his child’s school records while she was a minor.
The court had already directed service on the Department of Education and told Sullivan to provide an address for Binong Xu. Sullivan provided the address, so the court directed that Xu be served through the U.S. Marshals Service.
Judge Liman instructed the Clerk of Court to issue a summons and prepare the paperwork for service. The order says service must occur within 90 days after the summons is issued, or Sullivan should request more time.
The detailed version
- Sullivan v. Banks · No. 1:24-cv-03251
- Lewis Liman
- Apr. 16, 2025
Background
Mark J. Sullivan, who is representing himself, alleges that the New York City Department of Education and Binong Xu denied him access to his child’s school records when the child was a minor. The court had previously directed service of the action on the Department of Education and directed Sullivan to provide a service address for Xu. Sullivan complied.
Order
The court directed service on Xu. Because Sullivan had been granted permission to proceed without paying the usual costs required at the outset of a case, the court stated that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out service. The Clerk of Court was instructed to complete a U.S. Marshals Service process-receipt form, issue a summons, and send the Marshals Service the paperwork needed to serve Xu with the summons and a copy of the amended complaint.
The order states that the amended complaint must be served within 90 days after the summons is issued. If service is not completed within that period, Sullivan should request an extension of time. The order also explains that the usual 90-day service period is extended here because Sullivan could not have served the complaint until the court reviewed it and ordered the summonses issued.
Effect of the Order
This is an order arranging service of process, not a decision on whether Sullivan’s allegations are legally valid. The court directed the Clerk and the Marshals Service to proceed with service on Xu and did not resolve the underlying dispute. Judge Liman signed the order on April 16, 2025.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.