From a legal perspective, settlement does not mean there was an outcome other than...a settlement, which is usually so that no more money needs to be spent litigating the issue. It doesn't mean that any side "won" or "lost", just that they both decided on the best way to move forward and put the issue behind them.

As I may have stated several times, liquidated damages are often part of the settlement talks as they are baked into contracts like this one.