Hatfield, pt 2

When a case settles like this, the trade-off is fairly obvious: The defendant thinks it is going to get hammered at trial and the plaintiff realizes that even if that happens, by the time the case goes through trial and then a round or two of appeals, it will be many years before a check is cut.

But what if the FBI has another suspect in mind and one that, in retrospect, was obvious on an Inspector Clouseau level? Then they might envision getting really hammered at trial and that might spark a real urgency to settle this thing.

I don't know if that is what is going on. I'm just speculating.