Given all the Crocs bashing lately, including predictions of the company's demise amid layoffs, it might be hard to believe that Crocs' stock actually went up this week (via the Denver Business Journal), and The Motley Fool dubs Crocs a top buy. The Niwot-based maker of the rubber shoes has settled a lawsuit with Seattle-based NothinZ, which was an Achilles heel of sorts. Crocs filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission more than three years ago alleging that 11 companies, including NothinZ-maker Australia Unlimited Inc., infringed on its patents. Crocs settled with Australia Unlimited in August 2006, but a new legal battle reignited months later, when Crocs claimed a breach of contract alleging that NothinZ was going to release a shoe that violated the old agreement. The terms of the new settlement were not disclosed in filings with the U.S. District Court of Colorado, reports Boulder's Daily Camera. Jim Klavano, founder and president of Australia Unlimited, says the settlement was "just survival ... you just have to not give up and that's kind of where we were." Tia Mattson, a Crocs spokeswoman, has declined to discuss details and the terms of the settlement. For a closer look at Crocs' internal troubles, read "Burning Rubber" from the June 2008 edition of 5280.