21.   On Saturday, Bedie sought a settlement to ward off the election-day crisis.

22.   So she must head to court to seek a settlement.

23.   The agreement to seek a settlement came after rounds of charges and countercharges in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in articles in newspapers and trade publications.

24.   The Bush administration took the first step Tuesday toward seeking settlement of the multibillion-dollar civil lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

25.   The company said in its filing that the FTC sent it a draft complaint seeking a settlement of some of its practices.

26.   The company can seek a settlement or argue its case before an administrative law judge.

27.   The Diocese of Albany had already announced in May that it would no longer seek confidential settlements, said the Rev. Kenneth Doyle, its chancellor.

28.   The documents may also provide clues to why the industry sought a settlement.

29.   The Minnesota deal signaled what many observers say is a movement by the industry to avoid trials and seek out-of-court settlements.

30.   The lawyers then sent the clients to chiropractors who prescribed lengthy and often unnecessary treatments and then sought settlements from insurance companies.