The Burnley midfielder, who was still with Queens Park Rangers at the time, labelled the family 'asset-strippers' for their controversial tenure at the helm at Bloomfield Road.
Since their solitary season in the top-flight, Blackpool have been relegated into the third tier, and currently sit four points outside the League One relegation zone.
Chairman Karl Oyston sanctioned a legal letter to Barton claiming defamation, and the Daily Mail report the former Manchester City man has paid compensation.
Barton, 33, made the comments when comparing the ownership at Blackpool to that of Mike Ashley at Newcastle United.
He said: "Do you know what the [Newcastle] situation reminds me an awful lot of? It reminds me of Blackpool, what Oyston’s done at Blackpool where he’s asset-stripped them.
"Obviously I’m aware it’s not that far down the line but that’s what he did. The club ran at a massive profit, got to the Premier League, he took all the money out the club and stopped investing in players.
"Mike is a more savvy businessman than that. He’s dead set on keeping them in the Premier League."