Dominguez v. Pratt
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:23-cv-00981
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Dominguez v. Pratt, Judge Gilliam revoked Elijah Dominguez’s fee-waiver status after finding his appeal frivolous and not brought in good faith.
Elijah Dominguez, whose in forma pauperis status for the appeal was revoked.
What happened
In Dominguez v. Pratt, Elijah Dominguez appealed an earlier order that dismissed his complaint without prejudice, along with later orders denying several of his motions. The Ninth Circuit asked the district court to decide whether he could continue without paying appeal fees.
The court found that the issues in the appeal were frivolous and that the appeal was not brought in good faith. It therefore revoked Dominguez’s status allowing him to proceed without paying the required fees.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. entered the order on December 4, 2023.
The detailed version
- Dominguez v. Pratt · No. 4:23-cv-00981
- Haywood Gilliam
- Dec. 4, 2023
Background
Elijah Dominguez appealed the court’s July 24, 2023 order dismissing his complaint without prejudice. He also appealed later rulings that denied motions to consolidate, motions seeking extraordinary relief, a motion for relief from a judgment or order, a motion to appoint counsel, and a motion to add a new defendant.
The Ninth Circuit referred the matter to the district court for the limited purpose of deciding whether Dominguez’s in forma pauperis, or IFP, status should continue for the appeal. IFP status allows a person to proceed without paying required court fees.
Ruling
The court found that the issues presented by the appeal were frivolous and that the appeal was not taken in good faith. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915, the court therefore revoked Dominguez’s IFP status. The order did not rule on the underlying claims in the dismissed complaint.
Disposition
The court revoked Elijah Dominguez’s IFP status for the appeal. Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. signed the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.