They weren't "locked in a legal battle". Their criminal charges were dismissed within 6 months of the incident happening. What resolved recently was a civil suit they themselves brought for damages from defamation and emotional distress.
"We" (here in W.Australia) got sued by a US company for doing math once - took six years of legal back and forth to "win", eight years out of people's lives from disruption, and essentially destroyed a company that innovated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LizardTech,_Inc._v._Earth_Reso....
I don't think these are crazy timelines for civil litigation here. I mean, is it worth criticizing? I guess, sure. But: civil suits take for-ev-er. A case is an indeterminate but fairly large number of steps, each of which includes 1d8+4 month next check-in date.
Yes, civil suits are also legal battles. There's no reason it should have taken more than a year to resolve.
By the way, I dont know who you are quoting as that is not my exact wording.