After several failed attempts in a Utah court, former managers of the Salt Lake Tribune have now petitioned a federal appeals court to force the judge overseeing the newspaper ownership dispute to release personal information about himself.

The information, say members of the prominent McCarthey family, may lead to U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart's removal from the 3-year-old case. Stewart was assigned to the case in July 2001, after three other federal judges recused themselves.

According to the 37-page document filed Wednesday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Stewart has a duty to disclose all facts about himself that relate to issues in the litigation. That includes, according to the petition, discussions he had with former Gov. Mike Leavitt about a possible sale of the Tribune and his financial contributions to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Former Tribune managers have asked Stewart on three prior occasions to remove himself from the case. They stopped short of asking for a fourth time last month but did again request full disclosure from Stewart.

"A judge's duty to make prompt and complete disclosures begins even before he accepts a case, and continues indefinitely," the filing states. "The district court has been in breach of this mandatory duty for more than two years, despite several requests, to the detriment of the parties and the public perception of the judiciary."

Philip McCarthey declined Thursday to discuss his reasons for filing the petition now, when most issues have already been decided and the case is already before the appeals court for review.

"Out of respect for the judiciary system, I really can't have any other comment now," McCarthey said. "I think the papers really speak for themselves."

Wednesday's filing alleges that Stewart, as Leavitt's chief of staff in 1999, was made aware of conversations between the governor and then-Tribune owner AT&T about a possible sale of the Tribune to the Deseret Morning News. Leavitt has testified that he "probably" talked with his staff about the conversations, though Stewart has said he has no recollections of any such discussions.

The Deseret Morning News eventually decided against purchasing the Tribune, and the paper was later sold to Denver-based MediaNews Group Inc.

The McCartheys have long contended the sale was part of a strategy to prevent Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co. (SLTPC) from purchasing the Tribune at the end of a five-year option agreement it held on the paper. The document was signed in 1997, when the Tribune and Telecommunications Inc. merged in a $731-million tax free stock swap.