Alexander Terekhov writes:
There are many reasons why defendants prefer to settle even if they
believe that their lawyers will win in court.
David Kastrup wrote:
Most involving deep pockets and continued litigation.
Often the defense convinces the plaintiff that if they go to court the
plaintiff's claims will all be dismissed and the that the defense will
press for legal expenses and other counterclaims. They then offer to drop
their counterclaims if the plaintiff will join them in a motion for
dismissal with prejudice. Dismissal without prejudice means that the
plaintiff has the right to come back and reinstate his case should the
defendant fail to comply with the terms of the settlement.
So far as I know none of the GPL cases brought in the US have been
dismissed with prejudice.