Sivak v. Parea

Background

Lacey Sivak, an Idaho state prisoner, filed the related actions while representing himself. In each case, the court denied his request to proceed without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). That provision generally prevents a prisoner from proceeding without paying fees after three or more qualifying prior dismissals, unless the prisoner alleges an imminent danger of serious physical injury.

The court found that Sivak had at least three prior dismissals, had not alleged a specific imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed the actions, and did not meet the standard for proceeding without paying the filing fees. The court ordered him to pay the full filing fee within fourteen days or risk dismissal without prejudice.

Appeals and jurisdiction

Sivak appealed some of the orders instead of paying the filing fees. The court explained that an interlocutory appeal generally transfers authority over the appealed issues to the Court of Appeals, but a notice of appeal from an interlocutory order is not treated as filed until the Court of Appeals permits the appeal. The Ninth Circuit had not granted permission for these appeals, so the district court concluded that it still had authority over the actions.

Rulings

Because the deadline to pay the filing fee had passed and Sivak had not paid, the court dismissed each action without prejudice. The court stated that Sivak could move to reopen any action after paying its full filing fee, and that a separate full filing fee would be required for each action he wanted to reopen and pursue.

The court also denied any pending motion to proceed without paying the filing fee on appeal under § 1915(g), terminated all other pending motions as moot, and closed the cases. Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin signed the order.