884
Opinion of the Court
IV
The words of § 1291 have long been construed to recognize that certain categories of prejudgment decisions exist for which it is both justifiable and necessary to depart from the general rule, that "the whole case and every matter in controversy in it [must be] decided in a single appeal." McLish v. Roff, 141 U. S. 661, 665-666 (1891). But denying effect to the sort of (asserted) contractual right at issue here is far removed from those immediately appealable decisions involving rights more deeply rooted in public policy, and the rights Digital asserts may, in the main, be vindicated through means less disruptive to the orderly administration of justice than immediate, mandatory appeal. We accordingly hold that a refusal to enforce a settlement agreement claimed to shelter a party from suit altogether does not supply the basis for immediate appeal under § 1291. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is therefore
Affirmed.
§ 1292(b) might operate, practically or legally, to prejudice its claimed right to immediate appeal under § 1291.
Last modified: October 4, 2007