A woman has filed a lawsuit against the Village of Freeport, local authorities, and a towing company, alleging that they unlawfully seized her vehicle.
The lawsuit filed by plaintiff Jaime Coffin names Michael Smith, Officer John Doe, JCB & Sons, Inc. (operating as Non-Stop Towing & Recovery), and Jerome Bonomo as defendants and claims that Coffin's vehicle was seized without due process. According to the complaint, Officer John Doe stopped Coffin under false pretenses of lacking insurance and immediately had her car towed by Non-Stop Towing & Recovery. Coffin was given only ten minutes to remove personal belongings from her car before it was taken away. The plaintiff argues that this action violated her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizures and her Fourteenth Amendment right to due process. She further claims that Freeport has a policy of seizing vehicles without warrants to enforce payment for parking tickets that have not been adjudicated.
Coffin faced additional hurdles when attempting to retrieve her vehicle. Despite paying fees at the Freeport Village Hall, she was informed that she needed to pay further charges directly to Non-Stop Towing & Recovery for towing and storage before her car would be released. Non-Stop allegedly imposed an unauthorized lien on the vehicle and threatened its sale if Coffin did not comply with their demands.
The complaint seeks various forms of relief from the court: a declaratory judgment stating that the defendants' actions were unconstitutional; compensatory and punitive damages; costs; attorneys' fees; and a permanent injunction against such practices in the future.
The plaintiff is represented by Andrew J. Campanelli of Campanelli & Associates, P.C.
The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under Civil Action No. 2:25-cv-02204.