According to an article in the LA Times, at Comic-Con Peter Jackson confirmed that they were about three to four weeks away from turning in their draft of the screenplay. Its great to see that The Hobbit project if pushing forward despite the fact that the ongoing court case could potentially remove the movie rights from Warner Bros.
Jackson also says that the movie has not been greenlit yet, so any casting rumors are false. Jackson once again confirmed the movie would be in two parts.

Comments:
guilemaster:
Im glad to here that Jackson's and Del Toro's conviction goes beyond the court and that they push on despite how precariously perched the two films are. Way to go movie guys!
Infernus:
waiting curiosly
Balin38:
Hopefully they get the go ahead. Though, considering the trilogy, there's almost zero chance of them being knocked back.
zach:
I dont see why they dont pay it. It was only 220 million which seems like a lot until you look at the fact that they made over 6 billion.