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Weren't the defendants in a position of greater leverage once he was elected president? From what I'd read, it would have been the first time a sitting president was forced to defend himself in a criminal trial. So if you've endured this legal battle for so long, why settle for a relatively small amount just when your leverage has started to climb?

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No, he had less leverage. Ongoing lawsuits are embarrassing. Being deposed as the sitting President is really embarrassing. Settling the case was the smart thing.

Pretty sure that OP was wondering why the plaintiffs agreed to settle, not the other way around.

Of course that was my point.

A few years ago Silvio Berlusconi used his position as prime minister of Italy to get laws enacted that granted his person immunity in various ongoing bribery and corruption cases, which then had to be dropped.

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