Sivak v. Perea

Background

Lacey Sivak, an Idaho state prisoner representing himself, filed the many related actions listed in the caption. In each case, the court denied his request to proceed without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). That statute generally bars a prisoner from proceeding without paying fees after three or more qualifying prior dismissals, unless the prisoner alleges an immediate danger of serious physical injury. The court found that Sivak had three or more qualifying prior dismissals, had not alleged a specific immediate danger when he filed, and did not meet the standard for proceeding without paying fees as a prisoner with many prior cases dismissed as frivolous.

Filing-fee deadline and appeals

The court ordered Sivak to pay the full filing fee in each case within 14 days or face dismissal without prejudice. Sivak did not pay the fees and appealed some of the orders. The court explained that an interlocutory appeal generally transfers authority over the appealed issues to the court of appeals, but such an appeal is not treated as filed until the court of appeals permits it. Because the Ninth Circuit had not granted permission for Sivak’s interlocutory appeals, the district court concluded that it retained authority over these actions.

Ruling

The court dismissed each of the listed actions without prejudice because Sivak had not paid the required filing fees by the deadline. It stated that Sivak could move to reopen any action after paying the full filing fee for that particular case. 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.