Proof is not the standard in a libel case — absence of malice is the standard, as long as there is SOME evidence. There was plenty of evidence but the court systems are corrupt and are moving the goalposts on what ‘proof’ is.
They simply caved. Jimrob was bullied by the LATimes and he didn’t cave. He fought towards a settlement, which is why we have that excerpt list here on FR.
I am not a lawyer so I can not definitively say what constitutes “standard of proof” nor am I familiar with JimRob’s case against the LA Times (though I admire him for standing up against them) but these sound like 2 different issues.