Certificate of Interested Persons

Certificate of Interested Persons

Discloses all persons and entities with a financial or legal interest in the outcome of a federal appeal per FRAP 26.1 and circuit local rules.

Prerequisites

1. Case caption — appellate case number, full party names as on the notice of appeal
2. Lower court filings — complaints, answers, corporate disclosure statements, settlement agreements
3. Corporate structure — ownership charts, parent/subsidiary relationships, merger/acquisition records
4. Representation details — all law firms and attorneys of record per party
5. Target circuit — specific U.S. Court of Appeals (requirements vary)

Process

1. Identify Circuit Requirements

[VERIFY] Research the destination circuit's local rules. Key variations:

2. Extract Interested Persons

Search all uploaded documents for every disclosable person/entity:

3. Draft the Certificate

Caption: Full court name, appellate case number, party names exactly as on notice of appeal, document title per local rule.

Disclosure body:

• Complete legal name for each person/entity — no abbreviations or trade names
• Relationship descriptor (e.g., "Parent corporation of Defendant XYZ Corp.")
• Full corporate ownership chain for corporate parties

Certification statement:

• Reference FRAP 26.1 and applicable local rule by number
• Attest completeness after reasonable inquiry
• Acknowledge continuing duty to supplement
• Include FRAP 32(g) certification

Signature block: Attorney name, signature (CM/ECF compliant), bar number, jurisdiction, firm name, address, phone, email, date.

4. Quality Checks

• All names spelled correctly; complete legal names used (no trade names)
• Every required category addressed, including negative statements where required
• Corporate ownership chains fully traced
• Consistent with prior trial-court disclosure statements
• Changes in corporate structure or representation since trial court flagged
• Formatting meets circuit specifications (margins, typeface, spacing, page limits)
• Properly dated and signed

Guidelines

• Completeness over brevity — omitting an interested person risks recusal motions and procedural delays; when in doubt, disclose
• Verify corporate structures with client — public filings may be outdated; confirm current ownership before filing
• Flag changes from trial court — note any corporate structure or representation changes explicitly
• Never abbreviate entity names — courts use these for automated conflict checks
• Supplement promptly — file a supplemental certificate immediately upon discovering new interested persons
• Circuit rules control — FRAP 26.1 sets the floor, not the ceiling; always check local rules