Also known as: know or have reason to know · knew or had reason to know · knowing or having reason to know · reason to know
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of knowledge encompassing both actual awareness of a fact and information from which a reasonable person would infer the fact's existence or govern conduct on that assumption.
Kiara Kaur consumed multiple cocktails before signing a margin trading agreement with Kite Finance at a reception. Her slurred speech and flat affect were apparent to the representative. Kite Finance seeks to enforce the agreement despite her later claim of incapacity. The representative's observations supply the required knowledge of her condition.
Kaito Kato owns a building and leases office space to Kinetic Solutions. Before the lease an inspection report revealed termite damage that weakened the only exterior staircase. Kaito conceals the report and reassures the tenant's manager that the stairs are solid. A visitor invited by the tenant is injured when a stair collapses. The tenant had no visible warning and no access to the report.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Keisha Kincaid owns a parcel and initially consents to entry by Karina Kovacs for a survey. Keisha later sends written revocation of consent. Karina continues onto the land after receiving the letter but claims she never read it. The letter's delivery supplies the required knowledge that consent has ended.
Kurtis Kaiser, a retail merchant, receives a signed order confirmation from Knowledge Partners listing styles and quantities of goods priced above five hundred dollars. The confirmation arrives at his business address. Kurtis does not open the envelope and raises no objection within ten days. The receipt of the record satisfies the statute of frauds against him.
Krypton Industries and Kelvin Kimura execute a services contract using the word intensive without defining it. Internal messages show each attached a different meaning to the term yet neither inquired further. Performance later becomes impossible under one interpretation. The absence of knowledge about the other's meaning prevents mutual assent on that term.
Kite Finance leases a warehouse to a tenant that will operate a public gaming arcade. Before the lease the landlord observes corroded railings on a mezzanine that fail current codes. The landlord does nothing to repair or barricade the area. A customer falls during an event and is injured. The landlord's pre-lease observations establish the required knowledge of the unreasonable risk.
Reason to know exists when a party has information that would lead a reasonable person to infer the fact or to act on the assumption that the fact exists. Actual knowledge requires subjective awareness. The distinction matters in incapacity and nondisclosure cases because constructive knowledge can trigger liability even without subjective awareness.
A landlord has reason to know when an inspection report or other information describes a concealed hazard that existed at the time of leasing. The landlord must also realize the risk and expect the tenant will not discover it. Failure to disclose then creates liability to the tenant and permitted entrants.
Receipt of a signed confirmation sent between merchants satisfies the statute against the recipient if the recipient has reason to know its contents. The recipient must object within ten days or the confirmation binds the recipient even without a signature. Failure to open the document does not negate reason to know.
No contract forms on the term if neither party knows or has reason to know the meaning attached by the other. Each party must lack information that would alert a reasonable person to the other's divergent understanding. Conscious execution despite known ambiguity prevents mutual assent.
…held that fairness and justice mandated that the statute of limitations should not have commenced running until the plaintiff knew or had reason to know of the presence of the foreign object in her body. The discovery rule has since been extended to other areas of medical malpractice. See, e.g., Lopez, supra (alleged negligent radiation…