Sivak v. Perea

Background

Lacey Sivak, who represented himself, filed the listed actions. The court denied his requests to proceed without paying filing fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), a provision that bars a prisoner from proceeding without paying after three or more prior qualifying dismissals unless the prisoner alleges imminent danger of serious physical injury. The court found that Sivak had three or more prior dismissals, had not alleged specific imminent danger at the time he filed, and did not meet the standard for proceeding without paying fees.

The court ordered Sivak to pay the full filing fee within 14 days or face dismissal without prejudice. Instead of paying, Sivak appealed some of the orders. The court explained that an interlocutory appeal—an appeal before the case is finally resolved—does not take effect for jurisdictional purposes until the court of appeals permits it. Because the Ninth Circuit had not granted permission to appeal, the district court retained jurisdiction over these actions.

Rulings

The court held that the payment deadline had passed without payment. It therefore dismissed without prejudice each listed action. Sivak may file a motion to reopen any listed action after paying that action’s full filing fee; a separate full filing fee is required for each case he seeks to reopen.

The court also denied any pending motion to proceed without paying filing fees on appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), for the same reasons it had denied that status in the district court. The court stated that the Ninth Circuit would independently decide whether Sivak could proceed without paying fees on appeal. The Clerk was ordered to terminate as moot all other pending motions and close the listed cases.

Classification note

This is a procedural order because the court dismissed the actions based on failure to pay filing fees after denying fee-waiver requests; the opinion does not decide the underlying claims.