1.   Attorneys for both companies said they settled to avoid a costly court battle.

2.   Both settlement agreements state that the case was settled to avoid the cost of continued litigation and that UH admits no liability.

3.   Abbott said it continued to maintain its innocence but settled to avoid further legal costs.

4.   Both said they had done nothing wrong and that they settled to avoid the costs and disruption of litigation.

5.   Chevy Chase strenuously denied the allegation and said it had settled to avoid costly litigation.

6.   It also found that attorneys have such high workloads they are losing cases because of poor preparation and are quick to settle to avoid lengthy litigation.

7.   It said the complaints were settled to avoid continued expense and distraction.

8.   Legal experts say secretive Swiss banks may settle to avoid an airing of dirty laundry, which could show that Swiss banks misused money deposited by Jews.

9.   Many Japanese corporations, like Kajima, that do business in Asia may feel obliged to settle to avoid tarnishing their reputations in places like China and South Korea.

10.   Sulzer said it had settled to avoid the cost of lengthy litigation.