Attorneys for Gov. Matt Blunt and the attorney general’s office will be in court today to argue the ongoing litigation over the governor’s e-mails, but indications are clear that a settlement is in the offing.

The two sides have been battling in recent weeks over whether Blunt will sit for a deposition. And Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan, who appointed Louis Leonatti and Joe Maxwell as assistant attorneys general in the case, had set a hearing for today to hear a variety of motions, including one seeking dismissal of the case.

The case was brought, first by St. Louis attorney Chet Pleban, and then by Leonatti and Maxwell, because they alleged the Blunt administration was refusing to release records to the investigators appointed by Attorney General Jay Nixon to determine whether the governor’s office had violated Sunshine Law and records retention laws.

Maxwell told the Post-Dispatch this morning that the attorneys for both sides will “read a statement” at the 2:30 hearing. Asked if a settlement had been reached, Maxwell declined to say.

Both Maxwell and Blunt attorney John Holstein have said recently that the two sides were trying to reach a settlement to avoid a trial, which had been scheduled for Jan. 5.

The case is separate from the civil lawsuit brought by former Blunt deputy counsel Scott Eckersley, who is suing for defamation, wrongful termination and violation of Sunshine Law. His case, in Jackson County, is continuing.