Bloomberg reports the lawyer for the estate of Spirit guitarist Randy California had asked the Los Angeles court to grant extra time, in part to gather more information about the song's earnings which - by one estimate - suggests the 1971 classic has made more than half a billion dollars.

Surviving Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant objected to a proposed postponement to July, which would also have conflicted with Plant's European summer tour.

The court has scheduled a settlement conference next month for the opposing parties to try to resolve the dispute, while the band says they plan to file a motion for summary judgment to end the case.