Jane Doe JJ v. USA Gymnastics, 40 F.4th 775

J.J. was a USA Gymnastics member from ages 7–17 and was sexually assaulted by team physician Larry Nassar.
USA Gymnastics filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 and set an April 2019 bar date for proofs of claim.
USA Gymnastics mailed direct notices to ~1,300 known potential claimants, emailed >360,000 members, and ran a broad constructive-notice media campaign; J.J. did not receive actual notice.
J.J. filed a proof of claim five months late after retaining counsel and moved to have it treated as timely, arguing she was entitled to actual notice because USA Gymnastics should have known she was a claimant.
The bankruptcy court and district court held J.J. was not a reasonably ascertainable creditor and therefore entitled only to constructive notice; J.J. appealed.
On review, the court found no evidence USA Gymnastics possessed J.J.’s medical records and rejected the argument that Michigan law clearly required the organization to retain such records.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether J.J. was a "reasonably ascertainable" creditor entitled to actual notice	J.J.: Her identity was ascertainable because she was treated by Nassar and USA Gymnastics should have known of that	USA Gymnastics: No evidence it had records or specific information about J.J.; constructive notice sufficed	Not reasonably ascertainable; only constructive notice required; claim untimely (affirmed)
Whether Michigan law imposed a recordkeeping duty on USA Gymnastics that would make J.J. ascertainable	J.J.: State statutes required retention of relevant medical/ treatment records, so debtor should have possessed info	USA Gymnastics: Statutes cited apply to natural persons or defined health facilities; organization not shown to be covered	Court rejected the statutory-duty theory — Michigan law did not clearly require USA Gymnastics to keep such records

Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950) (establishes constitutional adequacy-of-notice principles)
Tulsa Professional Collection Services, Inc. v. Pope, 485 U.S. 478 (1988) (defines "reasonably ascertainable" creditor standard)
Fogel v. Zell, 221 F.3d 955 (7th Cir. 2000) (applies ascertainability test in bankruptcy notice context)
Dahlin v. Lyondell Chemical Co., 881 F.3d 599 (8th Cir. 2018) (discusses reliance on debtor's books and records for ascertainability)
Mennonite Board of Missions v. Adams, 462 U.S. 791 (1983) (requires reasonably diligent efforts to locate creditors)
In re Placid Oil Co., 753 F.3d 151 (5th Cir. 2014) (focuses on debtor possession of specific information tying a creditor to a claim)
Chemetron Corp. v. Jones, 72 F.3d 341 (3d Cir. 1995) (examines debtor's records as basis for actual notice)
In re Motors Liquidation Co., 829 F.3d 135 (2d Cir. 2016) (creditors deemed ascertainable where unambiguous statutory recordkeeping obligation existed)
In re Dimas, 14 F.4th 634 (7th Cir. 2021) (standard of review for bankruptcy factual findings and legal conclusions)