Could King kids’ battle over Bible, Nobel Prize be their last clash?

With it, one son is predicting that his and his siblings’ days of suing each other are finally over.

On Wednesday, after lawyers for both sides argued that they have gone as far as they can go toward a settlement in the bitter battle over ownership of King’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and traveling Bible, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the mediation and set a Sept. 30 deadline for a resolution.

“There has been progress, but we are not all the way there yet,” said McBurney, who in January signed an order granting a stay in the case so that Bernice King could negotiate a deal with her brothers, Dexter King and Martin Luther King III.

On Jan. 22, 2014, the brothers, citing a 1995 agreement that gave the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr. Inc. ownership of all their father’s property, voted 2-1 in favor of selling the Peace Prize and Bible. Bernice King said the items were “sacred” and voted against the possible sale in what she described as a hastily called meeting.

“There is still some work to be done,” said Eric L. Barnum, an attorney for Bernice King.

Barnum added that both sides have exchanged settlement agreements and have had “intense settlement discussions.” He spoke after court with Nicole Jennings Wade, the attorney for the King Estate, at his side.

It was a show of unity, both said.

“But we feel like we have gotten the parties as far as we can get, which is substantial,” Barnum said. “With a third-party neutral, we can close the gap.”

From the outset, the gap was wide and bitter.

In February 2014, Bernice King publicly accused her brothers of trying to physically sell their father’s 23-karat gold Nobel Prize medal, as well as the family Bible used by President Barack Obama when he was sworn in for his second term. No buyers have been identified and no price tag has been placed on the items, which could fetch millions.

Earlier, the King brothers filed a complaint in Fulton County Superior Court on behalf of the King Estate for emergency injunctive relief, claiming their sister had “secreted and sequestered” the Bible and Nobel medal in violation of the 1995 ownership agreement.

In March 2014, Bernice King was ordered to surrender the items until a court could sort things out.

On Tuesday, King III appeared on the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, where he was grilled by the host and journalist Roland Martin.

“Is this gonna be it?” Martin said of the array of lawsuits. “There are a lot of African-Americans across the country who are sick and tired of reading about lawsuits between King siblings.”

Over the past decade, there have been at least five lawsuits pitting two King siblings against one. Among them was a 2009 dispute in which Bernice King and King III found themselves in court against Dexter King over control of the estate. A judge eventually installed a custodian to temporarily run the estate and avoid a lengthy, embarrassing jury trial.

On Aug. 28, 2013, on the 50th anniversary of their father’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the brothers filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court calling for Bernice King to be placed on administrative leave as CEO of the King Center and for several items in her possession to be turned over to the estate. That lawsuit, which was dismissed last fall, also called for Andrew Young to be ousted from the King Center’s board.

King III said he is not surprised by the public backlash, adding that he had no defense for their actions.

“All families have issues,” King III said. “Unfortunately, our issues end up in the public space. I don’t expect ever again in life for us to be in court. I really don’t as it relates to squabbles against each other. We can be in court for other types of issues, but I really don’t expect us to be back in court at each other’s throats.”