<"I was told emphatically that no settlement had been reached">

If that was the judge talking, I would agree with the statement as written. Otherwise, considering we are talking court clerks, it makes more sense that he/she is not aware of any settlement being made public. And could the clerk say anything other than what he/she said w/o anything official being communicated? Even if clerk knew something, wouldn't the response necessarily be the same?

Opty