Why do you assume a completely 'private' settlement was not attempted? Now you know that previously there was a private settlement... How likely is it that the person who quietly settled and went home back then is now popping off in a public forum for no good reason? Over the last several months, Verity hasn't used or attempted to use our money for his own purposes, or misled us or obfuscated regarding how our money was used--as for DB, those issues appear highly debatable at least.
A more reasonable inference, in my opinion, would be: A 'private' settlement was likely attempted, and failed. Going public with the issue was the next logical step short of formal legal action.
Secondarily, private is private. It is quite ironic that some of us are publicly (ahem) shouting at Verity to keep the QASP dispute private...