Nobody's being sued. They want settlements, not litigation. The printer companies would refuse to pay the settlement offers, so the lawyers get nothing. The 10-employee companies can't afford litigation, so there's a chance they'll pay off the troll to avoid it.
If I were running a business that got one of these "settlement" letters, I say, "sue me." Then I'd turn right around and sue the printer company for failing to indemnify me for using their products and basically, force them into the fight.
Well gather up all your money + several hundred thousand more and burn it. All cause you didn't read the EULA of your scanner, the patents in question, or have a clue about US law.
