Sivak v. Officer of the United States

Background

Lacey Sivak, an Idaho state prisoner who represented himself, filed the listed actions. 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 bars a prisoner who has had three or more qualifying prior dismissals from proceeding without paying the fee unless the prisoner alleges imminent danger of serious physical injury. The court found that Sivak had the required prior dismissals, had not alleged specific imminent danger when he filed the actions, and did not meet the standard for proceeding without paying the fees.

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 instead 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 a notice of appeal from an interlocutory order is not treated as filed until the court of appeals permits the appeal. Because the Ninth Circuit had not granted permission for these appeals, the district court concluded that it retained authority over the actions.

Rulings

The court held that the deadlines for paying the filing fees had passed. It therefore dismissed each listed action without prejudice. The order allows Sivak to move to reopen any action after paying that action’s full filing fee; a separate full filing fee is required for each case he seeks to reopen and pursue.

The court also denied any pending motion for permission to proceed without paying the filing fee on appeal under § 1915(g). It directed the Clerk to terminate as moot all other pending motions in each case and to close all the listed cases. The order did not decide the underlying claims.