RE: Settlement around the corner anytime soon!!Possibly, but I am not holding my breath. It would be unwise to place too much confidence on mediation resulting in a settlement. Mediation is simply a process of supervised settlement negotiations and it will therefore only give rise to a deal if all parties agree to all terms. If the defendants want to continue to use their deep pockets to play hardball, there is nothing the mediator can do about it. Given that there are ways that the litigation can be extended for years (through use of appellate routes), the strategy may be to play the long game.