[dragonwriter]

> Is there a point at which money would exchange hands before a formal suit is filed?

For a purely monetary resolution to avoid a lawsuit, yes, but in regulatory cases rather than disputes between private parties where such an outcome is often preferred to a lawsuit occurring, the government will often not be interested in such an outcome, and will instead prefer a consent decree with behavioral restrictions that have strong legal consequences. These have to have an actual active case, as they are are court orders to which both parties stipulate, not private agreements. (“Settlement” can cover either type of resolution.)