882
Opinion of the Court
U. S., at 526, avoided by qualified immunity. Judged within the four corners of the settlement agreement, avoiding trial probably pales in comparison with the benefit of limiting exposure to liability (an interest that is fully vindicable on appeal from final judgment). In the rare case where a party had a special reason, apart from the generic desire to triumph early, for having bargained for an immunity from trial, e. g., an unusual interest in preventing disclosure of particular information, it may seek protection from the district court.
The case for adequate vindication without immediate appeal is strengthened, moreover, by recognizing that a settling party has a source of recompense unknown to trial immunity claimants dependent on public law alone. The essence of Digital's claim here is that Desktop, for valuable consideration, promised not to sue, and we have been given no reason to doubt that Utah law provides for the enforcement of that promise in the same way that other rights arising from private agreements are enforced, through an action for breach of contract. See, e. g., VanDyke v. Mountain Coin Machine Distributors, Inc., 758 P. 2d 962 (Utah App. 1988) (upholding compensatory and punitive damages award against party pursuing suit in the face of settlement agreement); see generally 5A A. Corbin, Corbin on Contracts § 1251 (1964); cf. Yockey v. Horn, 880 F. 2d 945, 947 (CA7 1989) (awarding damages for breach of settlement agreement promise not to "participate in any litigation" against plaintiff); see also Richardson-Merrell, 472 U. S., at 435, and n. 2 (existence of alternative fora for vindicating asserted rights is relevant to appealability under § 1291). And as for Digital's suggestion, see Brief for Petitioner 25, that Desktop is using this proceeding not to remedy a fraud but merely to renege on a promise because it now thinks it should have negotiated a better deal, when a party claims fraud or otherwise seeks recision of a settlement for such improper purposes, its opponent need not rely on a court of appeals for protection. See
Page: Index Previous 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007