Geneva, July 12 (DPA) Authorities in the US and the Zurich-based bank UBS AG Sunday filed a motion with the backing of the Swiss government to have their court case on client data postponed to allow for further negotiations.

The request to delay the proceedings until August - if no agreement is reached - was filed as the clock ticked down to the start of the trial at 13:00 GMT Monday in Miami, Florida.

The US wants UBS to hand over data on about 52,000 US-tax-paying clients of the bank. The Swiss government has said it would seize the data, if the US court demanded its disclosure, to prevent any violations of the Alpine confederation's banking confidentiality laws.

US and Swiss officials are trying to negotiate a solution to the quagmire, and the motion wants to allow them more time for talks.

'Further information is not available as the already ongoing settlement negotiations between the US and Swiss governments are confidential,' the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police said in a statement.

'The parties have agreed that any alternative resolution reached would necessarily include a provision requiring UBS to provide the Internal Revenue Service information on a significant number of individuals with UBS accounts,' the US Department of Justice said in a statement on its website.