Some cases have stated the test as to whether the amount due is capable of ascertainment by reference to and agreement by simple computation. A claim is contingent as to liability if the debtor's legal duty to pay does not come into existence until triggered by the occurrence of a future event and such future occurrence was within the actual or presumed contemplation of the parties at the time the original relationship of the parties was created. Carter Day Indus. Therefore, a claim is prepetition if, at the time the bankruptcy petition is filed, the debt is absolutely owed but is not presently due, or when a definite liability has accrued but is not yet liquidated. When a claim arises should be determined by looking to the Bankruptcy Code rather than state law.
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Emerging view seems to favor acts giving rise to liability plus some privity, contact, or relationship between debtor and potential tort victim. When A Claim Arises a. Discharge. Bankruptcy preserves, with some limitations, the right to set off mutual prepetition debt against a prepetition claim. However, if one arose prepetition and the other postpetition, setoff may be prohibited. Timing can affect priority, e.g., some postpetition claims may be entitled to administrative expense status and receive first priority.