Coleman v. New York State, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Stewart Aaron
- 1:25-cv-03336
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Coleman v. New York State, Judge Aaron ordered Marshals service and required identification of a Jane Doe defendant.
Sharelle Coleman, the listed defendants, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Clerk of Court, and the Port Authority Police Department.
What happened
In Coleman v. New York State, Sharelle Coleman had permission to proceed without paying filing fees. The court addressed how her amended complaint would be served on the defendants, not whether her claims were valid.
The court directed the Clerk to prepare service forms and summonses for each defendant and send the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service. The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses are issued. It also ordered the Port Authority Police Department to identify the Jane Doe employee who interacted with Coleman on August 9, 2024, and provide an address for service within 30 days after receiving the summons and complaint.
Judge Stewart D. Aaron entered the order on May 1, 2025. The order permits service to proceed through the Marshals Service and sets related deadlines; it does not decide the merits of Coleman's claims.
The detailed version
- Coleman v. New York State, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey · No. 1:25-cv-03336
- Stewart Aaron
- May 1, 2025
Background
Sharelle Coleman is the plaintiff. The defendants listed in the service-address section are New York State, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Port Authority Police Department, William Spinelli, Ronak Rana, and Tonya Jeffrey. The opinion states that the court had previously granted Coleman's request to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Service order
Because Coleman was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court stated that she was entitled to help from the court and the U.S. Marshals Service in serving the defendants. The Clerk of Court was instructed to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant, issue summonses, and deliver the required papers—including the amended complaint—to the Marshals Service so it could serve the entire pleading.
The court extended the usual service period. It stated that Coleman must serve the complaint within 90 days after the summonses are issued. If service is not completed within that period, Coleman should request an extension of time.
Identifying the Jane Doe defendant
The court found that Coleman had provided enough information for the Port Authority Police Department to identify the Jane Doe employee who, along with Rana and Jeffrey, interacted with Coleman at her home on August 9, 2024. The court ordered the Police Department to determine that person's identity and an address where the person could be served, then provide that information to Coleman and the court within 30 days after being served with the summons and complaint.
Disposition and classification
Judge Stewart D. Aaron ordered the Clerk and the Marshals Service to proceed with service and ordered the Port Authority Police Department to identify the Jane Doe employee. This is a procedural order about service of process and does not resolve the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.