Who knows how the negotiations went? Lawyers for both sides made their legal analysis. Khadr's lawyer was looking for 20 million. The government lawyers (knowing that they were going to lose) may have opened with 5 or 7. Then both sides met at 10.5 after a little more wrangling.

Your other option is to wait until you lose your case in court and have the judge decide on an amount, which could go higher than 20 million. This is another reason why you settle; you have at least some control over the amount you're willing to pay out.