Dwyane Wade Settlement!

Looks like a global one, too:

The trial pitting Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade against two former business partners who wanted $25 million after a restaurant deal went sour has come to a quick end, with the sides announcing a confidential settlement.

Court was delayed for unexplained reasons for nearly three hours Tuesday. All parties, including Wade, walked into the courtroom at 2:02 p.m., and the settlement was announced eight minutes later.

Judge Peter Adrien also said the sides worked out deals on other cases, which could include another trial that was scheduled in Miami brought by some of the ex-restaurant partners alleging Wade walked away from an agreement to license his name to for charter schools, and an antitrust suit over potential sales of memorabilia.

I've often wondered why cases like this settle only after the huge expenditure of time and money involved in getting the case ready for trial. (BTW, I'm not talking about cases where the insurance company needs to have it tried before putting any money on the table).

You would think sophisticated, experienced lawyers could evaluate their cases without having a jury seated and witnesses on the stand. I recognize there can be surprises -- a witness could really suck in court even though she was great at her depo -- but one would hope rational parties could figure out a way to avoid incurring expenses that are not really recoverable, along with the huge waste of time and resources (and trees!) that goes along with it.