about the upgrade, this is also because soapui use a specific way to declare it dependencies. Which means, that upgrading the version would also require add new dependencies to the maven repository used to build soapui.
Current plan is first to use regular maven coordinates in maven build and clean dependencies, then upgrade (that will require intensive testing to avoid regressions)
for more information, see also
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20368 about modifying maven coordinates and this one about upgrading the soapui maven repository
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17585