Sivak v. Parea

Background

Lacey Sivak, an Idaho state prisoner who represented himself, filed the multiple actions listed in the order against Zahida Perea. In each action, the court denied Sivak permission 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 that he faced an immediate danger of serious physical injury when he filed the action.

The court found that Sivak had three or more prior dismissals, had not alleged a specific immediate danger of serious physical injury at the time of filing, and did not satisfy the exception to the three-strikes rule. The court directed him to pay the full filing fee in each case within 14 days or face dismissal without prejudice.

Court’s reasoning

Sivak did not pay the filing 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 an appeal from an interlocutory order is not considered filed until the Court of Appeals allows the appeal. Because the Court of Appeals had not granted permission to appeal, the district court concluded that it retained authority over these actions.

Disposition

The court dismissed each listed action without prejudice because Sivak’s deadline to pay the filing fees had passed. The order states that Sivak may move to reopen any action after paying its full filing fee, with a separate full filing fee required for each case he seeks to reopen and pursue. The court also denied any pending motion for permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal under § 1915(g), directed the Clerk to terminate all other pending motions as moot, and ordered the cases closed.