Wal*Mart should have backed off. Maybe the best thing for both parties to have done from the start is for Wal*Mart to have been satisfied with a verdict in their favor while not actually taking any of the money back. That way both parties could have won. The Shanks get the money and Wal*Mart doesn't get the bad press and they still get to claim that legally they were right in order to protect in further cases.