What do I do in a non-lawsuit situation if the parties haven't settled, but nothing has happened in a long time either?

If a threat (such as an email or letter) has not been followed up in some time, it may be appropriate to assume that the situation has concluded. Use your own judgment. For instance, if a threat letter requests a settlement payment and/or a retraction by a certain date, but a year has passed since that date (or the date of the letter or email itself) or the ultimatum date lapsed with no further communications between the parties, then the situation probably has concluded. If the situation is less clear, choose “Pending.”