But regardless of whether they actually have grounds, I guess my question is still: why do they need to backpedal publicly? That is, why can't they just say "we

But regardless of whether they actually have grounds, I guess my question is still: why do they need to backpedal publicly? That is, why can't they just say "we're going to sue" and then not? Is that just a faux pas in the legal community, or is there a legal reason why?