Digital Equipment Corporation v. Desktop Direct, Inc.

Decided June 6, 1994. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 93-405 · 511 U.S. 863 (1994) · Cited 964 times

Holding

A refusal to enforce a settlement agreement claimed to shelter a party from suit is not immediately appealable under § 1291.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp. · 337 U.S. 541 (1949)
• Mitchell v. Forsyth · 472 U.S. 511 (1985)
• Coopers & Lybrand v. Livesay · 437 U.S. 463 (1978)
• Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard · 486 U.S. 517 (1988)
• Richardson-Merrell Inc. v. Koller Ex Rel. Koller · 472 U.S. 424 (1985)
• LAURO LINES s.r.l. v. Chasser · 490 U.S. 495 (1989)
• Abney v. United States · 431 U.S. 651 (1977)
• Midland Asphalt Corp. v. United States · 489 U.S. 794 (1989)
• Nixon v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 731 (1982)
• United States v. MacDonald · 435 U.S. 850 (1978)
• Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. v. Risjord · 449 U.S. 368 (1981)
• Cobbledick v. United States · 309 U.S. 323 (1940)
• Stringfellow v. Concerned Neighbors in Action · 480 U.S. 370 (1987)
• United States v. Hollywood Motor Car Co. · 458 U.S. 263 (1982)
• Carroll v. United States · 354 U.S. 394 (1957)
• Harlow v. Fitzgerald · 457 U.S. 800 (1982)
• Green v. United States · 355 U.S. 184 (1957)
• Catlin v. United States · 324 U.S. 229 (1945)
• Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority v. Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. · 506 U.S. 139 (1993)
• Home Building & Loan Assn. v. Blaisdell · 290 U.S. 398 (1934)
• Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co. · 467 U.S. 986 (1984)
• Von Hoffman v. City of Quincy · 71 U.S. 535 (1867)
• Helstoski v. Meanor · 442 U.S. 500 (1979)
• Parr v. United States · 351 U.S. 513 (1956)
• McLish v. Roff · 141 U.S. 661 (1891)
• United States Ex Rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson · 255 U.S. 407 (1921)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Mohawk Industries, Inc. v. Carpenter · 558 U.S. 100 (2009)
• Will v. Hallock · 546 U.S. 345 (2006)
• Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC · 589 U.S. 35 (2020)
• Microsoft Corp. v. Baker · 582 U.S. 23 (2017)
• Quackenbush v. Allstate Insurance · 517 U.S. 706 (1996)
• Behrens v. Pelletier · 516 U.S. 299 (1996)
• Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank · 575 U.S. 496 (2015)
• Ray Haluch Gravel Co. v. Cent. Pension Fund of the Int'l Union of Operating Eng'rs & Participating Emp'rs · 571 U.S. 177 (2014)
• Shoop v. Twyford · 596 U.S. 811 (2022)
• Swint v. Chambers County Commission · 514 U.S. 35 (1995)
• Cunningham v. Hamilton County · 527 U.S. 198 (1999)
• Coinbase, Inc. v. Bielski · 599 U.S. 736 (2023)
• Johnson v. Jones · 515 U.S. 304 (1995)
• Green Tree Financial Corp.-Alabama v. Randolph · 531 U.S. 79 (2000)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1994). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).