I think what's happening is an appeal. I pulled up the link (from the other thread) to the settlement in order to answer your quote. I can't cut-and-past it here, but it seems to clearly state that the trial (hence the verdict) was scheduled for March 2014, and both parties acknowledge the risk of losing.

So I guess that, strictly speaking, you may be correct about what the lower court found, and I'm correct that this court didn't find guilt.

Either way, my point is that the settlement the parties went for, reflect their confidence in losing or winning. It sure looks like the plaintiffs took a very low number. If you were suing someone for wiping out your career, and you were confident you had a case, would you take a month of pay?