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Opinion of the Court
might imply the contrary, it does not do so when read in context. See, e. g., id., at 526 (referring to defendant's entitlement to summary judgment, not to appealability, by saying that "defendant is entitled to summary judgment if discovery fails to uncover evidence sufficient to create a genuine issue").
Second, consider, in the context of an "evidence sufficiency" claim, Cohen's conceptual theory of appealability— the theory that brings immediate appealability within the scope of the jurisdictional statute's "final decision" requirement. That theory finds a "final" district court decision in part because the immediately appealable decision involves issues significantly different from those that underlie the plaintiff's basic case. As we have just pointed out, Mitchell rested upon the view that "a claim of immunity is conceptually distinct from the merits of the plaintiff's claim." 472 U. S., at 527. It held that this was so because, although sometimes practically intertwined with the merits, a claim of immunity nonetheless raises a question that is significantly different from the questions underlying plaintiff's claim on the merits (i. e., in the absence of qualified immunity). Id., at 528.
Where, however, a defendant simply wants to appeal a district court's determination that the evidence is sufficient to permit a particular finding of fact after trial, it will often prove difficult to find any such "separate" question—one that is significantly different from the fact-related legal issues that likely underlie the plaintiff's claim on the merits. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U. S. 242, 248 (1986) (district court's task, in deciding whether there is a "genuine" issue of fact, is to determine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party"); see also Elliott v. Thomas, 937 F. 2d, at 341 ("[W]hether the defendants did the deeds alleged . . . is precisely the question for trial") (emphasis in original), cert. denied, 502 U. S. 1074, 1121 (1992); Wright v. South Arkansas
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