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Out of curiosity, what made you settle given the contract in your favor?

I'm not the one who you are asking, but I've seen it happen so I know the answer -- because even when you're sure the contract is in your favor, it's going to cost you a heck of a lot of money to litigate, and you _might_ still lose even more money. Cut your losses (and write em off on your taxes), get back to business. And think about how you can be better at picking clients next time.

Nailed it. You can never predict an outcome, unless you're willing to spend a load of money on appeals. You rarely (in the US) can collect attorneys fees even if you prevail.

The non-trivial amount we paid out was a little less than winning would have cost.

Would you have represented your client for the litigation?

(Or would your firm have?)

I'm just curious to understand how your own incentives don't point you towards court. Are you in-house counsel? Are you a small shop with no litigation department?

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