Premise: So how do I make it better? Well, we provided an affidavit, and that affidavit indicated that we, if called upon to testify, would validate the authenticity of the articles that were written. We did that, in effect, to offer to both sides so that we wouldn't otherwise have to testify. Accepted by the plaintiffs, not accepted by the defendants. Defendants wanted to have the right of cross-examination.
Hypothesis: The Defendants  hired a big law firm