Federal courts usually make you wait
The federal system generally follows a final judgment rule, under which most rulings made along the way are reviewed only after the case ends. There are narrow exceptions, such as orders on certain injunctions, or a controlling legal question that the trial judge certifies and the appeals court agrees to take. Each exception is applied strictly, and the appellate court often has discretion to decline. In practice, most federal litigants live with an adverse interim ruling and preserve the issue for a later appeal. Extraordinary writs exist as well, but courts reserve them for unusual circumstances.
New York state courts are more open
New York is unusual. In civil cases in the state courts, many intermediate orders can be appealed to the Appellate Division as of right, including a wide range of rulings on motions that affect a substantial right. That makes an interlocutory appeal a realistic tool in New York litigation, used in disputes over dismissal, discovery, and provisional remedies. It also means the other side may appeal rulings you obtained. Taking a non-final order further, to the Court of Appeals, is much more limited. Whether a particular order qualifies, and how the short filing window is measured, has to be checked order by order.
Whether it is worth pursuing
Even where an immediate appeal is available, it is a strategic choice. It costs money, it can slow the underlying case or run alongside it, and a loss on appeal can harden the ruling. On the other hand, reversing a dispositive or damaging ruling early can reshape the whole matter and avoid an expensive trial built on a mistake. Bring the order, the motion papers from both sides, and the date you were served with it. We assess whether the order is appealable at all, whether a stay is realistic while the appeal is pending, and whether the issue is better preserved for the end.
