A lawsuit filed by the federal government against Clark County and a development company run by prominent gambler Billy Walters over rent collection at the Bali Hai golf course could stretch far into 2018 before reaching a resolution.

According to a procedural schedule approved by U.S. District Court Judge Peggy Leen in December, the parties in the case will engage in a discovery process that could last until early July, with the deadline for any pre-trial order set for Sept. 5.

The order likely means no quick resolution in the case, which was prompted by the federal Department of Justice filing suit against the county and Nevada Links Inc., a development company owned by Walters, in September 2017.

The suit alleges that the county, which received the land in a 1998 transfer from the federal government, owes millions of dollars in underpaid rent after it leased the property to Walters for extremely favorable terms in the late 1990’s.

Walters, who was given a five-year sentence last year over an inside trading scheme, leased the land from the county in the late 1990s to construct the golf course, though it has never turned a profit since construction. The property is widely considered a favorite spot for the Oakland Raiders to purchase, given its close proximity to the site of the team’s future stadium.

The order lays out several areas of possible discovery for the parties in the case, including:

• All “lease negotiations and agreement” between the county, Nevada Links and the Bureau of Land Management
• Terms considered by the county and Nevada Links for a 2011 amendment to the lease
• Rent paid by Nevada Links to the county, and payments made by the county to the Bureau of Land Management
• Communication between all three parties over the 2011 amendment
• The “creation and existence of any trust alleged” in the complaint
• The factual basis for any “fiduciary duty” brought up in the complaint

The court also ruled against Nevada Links Inc.’s request to halt discovery before the court rules on its motion to dismiss the case.