CREDITOR creditor. 1. One to whom a debt is owed; one who gives credit for money or goods.

Also termed debtee. 2. A person or entity with a definite claim against another, esp. a claim that is capable of adjustment and liquidation. 3.Bankruptcy. A person or entity having a claim against the debtor predating the order for relief concerning the debtor. [Cases: Bankruptcy 2822.C.J.S. Bankruptcy 239, 241.] 4.Roman law. One to whom any obligation is owed, whether contractual or otherwise. Cf. DEBTOR. conditional creditor. Civil law. A creditor who has either a future right of action or a right of action in expectancy. domestic creditor. A creditor who resides in the same state or country as the debtor or the debtor's property. double creditor. A creditor who has a lien on two funds. Cf. single creditor. foreign creditor. A creditor who resides in a different state or country from that of the debtor or the debtor's property. junior creditor. A creditor whose claim accrued after that of another creditor; a creditor who holds a debt that is subordinate to another's. known creditor. A creditor whose identity or claim is either known or reasonably ascertainable by the debtor. Known creditors are entitled to notice of the debtor's bankruptcy or corporate dissolution, as well as notice of any deadline for filing proofs of claim. lien creditor. A creditor whose claim is secured by a lien on the debtor's property. UCC 9-102(a)(52). [Cases: Secured Transactions 140. C.J.S. Secured Transactions 92.] preferred creditor. A creditor with a superior right to payment, such as a holder of a perfected security interest as compared to a holder of an unsecured claim. [Cases: Secured Transactions 138140, 168. C.J.S. Secured Transactions 88, 9092, 106107, 119124.] principal creditor. A creditor whose claim or demand greatly exceeds the claims of other creditors. prior creditor.A creditor who is given priority in payment from the debtor's assets. secondary creditor.A creditor whose claim is subordinate to a preferred creditor's. secured creditor.A creditor who has the right, on the debtor's default, to proceed against collateral and apply it to the payment of the debt. UCC 9-102(a)(72). Also termed secured party. Secured party means (A) a person in whose favor a security interest is created or provided for under a security agreement, whether or not any obligation to be secured is outstanding; (B) a person that holds an agricultural lien; (C) a consignor; (D) a person to which accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes have been sold; or (E) if a security interest or agricultural lien is created or provided for in favor of a trustee, agent, collateral agent, or other representative, that representative. UCC 9-102(a)(72). single creditor. In the marshaling of assets, a creditor with a lien on one fund. Cf. double creditor.

specialty creditor.A creditor to whom an heir is liable for a decedent's debts to the extent of the land inherited. Historically, unless the creditor obtained a judgment against the debtor before the debtor's death, the creditor's right of action on the debt was limited to the decedent's lawful heir. If the debtor devised the land to a stranger, the creditor's claim was defeated. See HEIR(1). There were three exceptions to this rule that a fee simple estate was not liable to the creditors of the deceased. Debts due to the Crown and debts due to judgment creditors were enforceable against the land notwithstanding the death of the owner, and thirdly, if the fee simple tenant had in his lifetime executed a deed whereby he covenanted for himself and his heirs to pay a sum of money, the creditor (called a specialty creditor) could make the heir liable for the debt to the extent of the land which had descended to him. But this privilege of the specialty creditor was not at first enforceable against an equitable fee simple, and it was strictly limited to a right of action against the heir of the deceased, so that the creditor was defrauded of his money if the deceased devised his land to a stranger. G.C. Cheshire, Modern Law of Real Property 738 (3d ed. 1933). subsequent creditor.A creditor whose claim comes into existence after a given fact or transaction, such as the recording of a deed or the execution of a voluntary conveyance. unsecured creditor.A creditor who, upon giving credit, takes no rights against specific property of the debtor. Also termed general creditor. warrant creditor.A creditor of a municipal corporation who is given a municipal warrant for the amount of the claim because the municipality lacks the funds to pay the debt. Cf. certificate creditor. [Cases: Municipal Cor-porations 896. C.J.S. Municipal Corporations 801, 1636.] CREDITOR BENEFICIARY creditor beneficiary.See BENEFICIARY. creditor dominii (kred-i-tor d<<schwa>>-min-ee-I). [Law Latin] Hist. The creditor who is entitled to ownership of an object; a secured creditor. Creditor dominii.... In commodate the lender is creditor of the subject, and on the bankruptcy of the borrower may vindicate his right of property and recover the subject itself .... John Trayner, Trayner's Latin Maxims 114 (4th ed. 1894). CREDITOR'S BILL creditor's bill. An equitable suit in which a judgment creditor seeks to reach property that cannot be reached by the process available to enforce a judgment. Also termed creditor's suit. [Cases: Debtor and Creditor 11. C.J.S. Assignments for Benefit of Creditors 26; Creditor and Debtor 95105.] CREDITOR'S CLAIM creditor's claim. See CLAIM(5). CREDITORS' COMMITTEE creditors' committee. Bankruptcy. A committee comprising representatives of the creditors in a Chapter 11 proceeding, formed to negotiate the debtor's plan of reorganization. Generally, a committee has no fewer than 3 and no more than 11 members and serves as an advisory body. 11 USCA 1102. [Cases: Bankruptcy 3024. C.J.S. Bankruptcy 193, 373.] CREDITORS' COMPOSITION creditors' composition. See COMPOSITION(1).

CREDITORS' MEETING creditors' meeting.See MEETING. CREDITOR'S SUIT creditor's suit.See CREDITOR'S BILL. CREDIT RATING credit rating.An evaluation of a potential borrower's ability to repay debt, prepared by a credit bureau at the request of a lender. [Cases: Credit Reporting Agencies 14. C.J.S. Credit Reporting Agencies; Consumer Protection 222.] CREDIT REPORT credit report. 1. A credit bureau's report on a person's financial status, usu. including the approximate amounts and locations of a person's bank accounts, charge accounts, loans, and other debts, bill-paying habits, defaults, bankruptcies, foreclosures, marital status, occupation, income, and lawsuits. See CREDIT BUREAU. 2. The report of a credit-reporting bureau, usu. including highly personal information gathered through interviews with a person's friends, neighbors, and coworkers. See CREDIT-REPORTING BUREAU. [Cases: Credit Reporting Agencies 14. C.J.S. Credit Reporting Agencies; Consumer Protection 222.] CREDIT-REPORTING BUREAU credit-reporting bureau.An organization that, on request, prepares investigative reports not just on people's creditworthiness but also on personal information gathered from various sources, including interviews with neighbors, friends, and coworkers. These reports are used chiefly by employers (for prospective employees), insurance companies (for applicants), and landlords (for prospective tenants). Also termed investigating bureau. Cf. CREDIT BUREAU. [Cases: Credit Reporting Agencies 14. C.J.S. Credit Reporting Agencies; Consumer Protection 222.] CREDIT-SHELTER TRUST credit-shelter trust.See bypass trust under TRUST. CREDIT SLIP credit slip.A document that allows a store customer to either purchase another item or receive cash or credit for merchandise that the customer has returned to the store. CREDIT UNION credit union.A cooperative association that offers low-interest loans and other consumer banking services to persons sharing a common bond often fellow employees and their family members. Most credit unions are regulated by the National Credit Union Administration. State-chartered credit unions are also subject to regulation by the chartering state, and they may be regulated by state banking boards. [Cases: Building and Loan Associations 16, 2440. C.J.S. Building and Loan Associations, Savings and Loan Associations, and Credit Unions 27, 919, 3132, 45, 66113, 115, 144145.] Credit unions were the last major thrift institutions developed in the United States .... What distinguished credit unions from mutual savings banks and savings and loan associations was their emphasis on a common bond of workers, church members, or people in a local area, wanting to borrow relatively small amounts at reasonable interest rates from each other, and help each other save to meet these short-term needs. Their goal was to provide a low interest rate alternative ... to loan sharks and pawnbrokers. William A. Lovett, Banking and Financial Institutions Law in a Nutshell 284 (1997). CREDITWORTHY creditworthy,adj. (Of a borrower) financially sound enough that a lender will extend credit in the belief that default is unlikely; fiscally healthy. creditworthiness,n.