INDIANAPOLIS (AP): The upcoming retirement of one of Indiana’s Supreme Court justices has legal observers speculating on when the court might rule in a long-running dispute over IBM Corp.’s failed attempt to privatize Indiana’s welfare services.

The court heard oral arguments in October 2014 in the case filed over IBM’s $1.3 billion state contract to automate much of the state’s welfare system.

IBM and the state then tried to resolve their dispute over tens of millions of dollars through mediation, but those talks failed last August.

Indiana University law professor Joel Schumm says the IBM contract dispute is now the longest pending case still before the state’s high court.

He says legal observers wonder if the court will rule before retiring Justice Brent Dickson steps down April 29.