Known Creditor Law and Legal Definition
A known creditor refers to a creditor whose identity is either known or reasonably ascertainable by the debtor. A known creditor is a party whose claim is sufficiently choate and grounded in fact and law that it necessarily must be removed from the realm of mere speculation and conjecture. To have a known claim at least in those circumstances in which the existence of a claim would not otherwise be obvious from the surrounding circumstances, a creditor must generally provide the debtor with some communication that reasonably apprises the debtor of the basis for the claim and the creditor's intent to hold the debtor liable for it. A creditor who does not meet this test is not considered a known creditor and may be given constructive notice of the claims bar date by. A known creditor is entitled to formal notice of impending bankruptcy proceedings. This is true even where the creditor has actual knowledge of the pendency of bankruptcy proceedings generally, but is not given formal notice of the confirmation hearing. [Berger v. TWA (In re TWA), 96 F.3d 687 (3d Cir. Del. 1996)].
