The multi-billion dollar Thyssen case will not be back in court until September, according to the Deputy Governor, Tim Gurney.

The case was left hanging in March when the presiding judge, Dennis Mitchell, dramatically quit over a pay row - a year and a half into the case, leaving the Attorney General and Governor's office the chore of finding a replacement judge for the complex legal wrangle.

An announcement about a new judge was expected to be made in June, but there has been silence over the affair from all camps.

Mr. Gurney said: "There will be no court action before September."

He confirmed that no judge as yet had been appointed, but would say no more on the issue.

Rumours are circulating in both England and on the Island that there is a deal in the offing to settle the case out of court .

And in Spain the gossip columns state that the man who lodged the court case, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, is believed to be seriously ill in his home in Italy.

The Governor's office nor any of the parties involved refused to comment on the rumours.

The courtroom battle between the Baron and his eldest son Georg for the $2.7 billion family fortune has been raging since October 1999.

A team of 32 lawyers from both England and Bermuda had been working on the case around the clock for a year and a half in the Supreme Court in a case which has cost an estimated $100 million.

There was speculation when Justice Mitchell quit that the trial would have to restart or move to London.

But at the beginning of June it was believed a top London judge, Sir Gavin Lightman, was about to take over the trial and hear the remaining case in Bermuda.

At the time it was believed he was poised to sign contracts in June - but this appears not to have happened.

Justice Mitchell quit after Governor Masefield declined to renew his three-year contract after demands for more money were made by the judge.

The parties involved have talked of suing the Government, the Governor and Justice Mitchell among others for the failure of the case.