At the end of 2013 the United States 7th Circuit Court stopped a creditor from reopening a discharged bankruptcy case, because the debtor failed to notify the creditor directly; In Re Herman 737 F 33d 449 (7th Circuit 2013). In this case the debtor listed the creditor on his bankruptcy petition showing an attorney for the creditor, who was not representing the creditor in the bankruptcy, as the address for notifying the creditor. The appellate court felt that this was sufficient notice to give a reasonable opportunity to take action and refused to reopen the case to allow the creditor to object.
As a bankruptcy attorney I of course have seen many cases where it is difficult to find an address to notify a creditor, and it is always good to see the court accept a reasonable effort, even if the address used for a creditor does not end up creating the best notice available. There are too many cases of creditors, who have moved or have gone out of business, or in the more shady category are purposely making it hard for their disgruntled customers to find them. The problem has been aggravated by advancing technology. Many people now pay loans through web sites that do not bother to provide an address for the lender. Unfortunately, the bankruptcy court still sends out notices of bankruptcy by mail, which requires a mailing address, rather than a website.
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