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Opinion of the Court
the various rulings to which a litigation may give rise, from its initiation to entry of judgment. The rule also serves the important purpose of promoting efficient judicial administration." Id., at 374 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
Consistent with these purposes, we have held that a decision is not final, ordinarily, unless it " 'ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment.' " Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard, 486 U. S. 517, 521-522 (1988) (quoting Catlin v. United States, 324 U. S. 229, 233 (1945)).
The Rule 37 sanction imposed on petitioner neither ended the litigation nor left the court only to execute its judgment. Thus, it ordinarily would not be considered a final decision under § 1291. See, e. g., Midland Asphalt Corp., supra, at 798; Richardson-Merrell, supra, at 430. However, we have interpreted the term "final decision" in § 1291 to permit jurisdiction over appeals from a small category of orders that do not terminate the litigation. E. g., Quackenbush, supra, at 711-715; Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc., 506 U. S. 139, 142-147 (1993); Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U. S. 511, 524-530 (1985); Cohen, supra, at 545-547. "That small category includes only decisions that are conclusive, that resolve important questions separate from the merits, and that are effectively unreviewable on appeal from the final judgment in the underlying action." Swint, supra, at 42.4
4 Most of our collateral order decisions have considered whether an order directed at a party to the litigation is immediately appealable. E. g., Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay, 437 U. S. 463, 468-469 (1978). Petitioner, of course, was an attorney representing the plaintiff in the case. It is nevertheless clear that a decision does not automatically become final merely because it is directed at someone other than a plaintiff or defendant. See Richardson-Merrell Inc. v. Koller, 472 U. S. 424, 434-435 (1985) (rejecting, as outside collateral order doctrine, immediate appeal of order disqualifying counsel). For example, we have repeatedly held that a wit-
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