Given that they are going to many, many people who haven't taken 10 flights lately, and also that the settlement was finally approved, I'm not convinced that your explanation makes sense.

Well, in this case the lawsuit was settled with the company agreeing to replace the forfeited certs. And no ruling has yet been made on legal fees. If you consider that worthless comp then I'm sure there is someone else here who would happily take those certs off your hands.