Reasonable minds can differ in isolated cases whether the amount of the settlement is just.

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Each agreement is negotiated separately, but the firm generally gets the first several million of a settlement plus a percentage of any amount over that.

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And he concluded that if the two sides were not ready for a settlement, then no amount of American involvement could help them.

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Additionally, although the 2003 settlement agreement indicates the amount of cash Tucson agreed to pay for the fill, it does not value the other benefits Boone received.

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Lawyers for the plaintiffs' group, the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, said the settlement "does the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people".

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More often than not, Davidson says, people are willing to pay the settlement out of court rather than enter a losing battle where the amount owed is likely to be three to five times more than the settlement offer.

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Just 20 of the 47 States members attended a confidential briefing on the settlement, after the Home Minister announced the amount would not be made public.

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