LIABILITY OF DEPOSITED GOODS TO ATTACHMENT.—Whether property in a safe deposit company is liable on a writ of attachment in a suit against the owner, is not so clear. It has been held in one case that it is so liable, and that the officer has a right to go in and seize the goods. This will not often be attempted, however, because the officer will not know in what box the debtor might have goods, and the safe deposit company will not tell him. The company is certainly under no obligation to help the officer. The regular way for a creditor to get at the goods of his debtor, concealed in the safe deposit box, is by first making the debtor disclose on examination in court what property he has, and then getting an order from the court that the debtor shall turn over what he has disclosed. This he must do or be imprisoned until he does. There is only one difficulty with this remedy, and that is that the debtor may have an infirm memory—in other words, he may commit perjury; he may have something in the box and not disclose the fact.
SEARCH FOR STOLEN PROPERTY.—If stolen property were sought, a search warrant describing the property might be presented to the safe deposit company, and it would have to permit the officer of the law to make the search for the goods described, but only for goods described in the search warrant. There is a case in New York where, on a search warrant for certain articles, the officer of a safe deposit company allowed the officer of the law to make a general examination of goods in its possession, and to remove some bonds which were not specified in the search warrant. The safe deposit company was held liable.
DEATH OF DEPOSITOR.—The question often arises: What is the situation on the death of the owner or renter of a safe? It is the same as in the case of the death of any bailor or depositor. The bailee must recognize the title only of the person who is appointed by law as the successor in interest to the deceased person. The safe deposit company has the right, and should exercise it, to demand proofs and identifications of persons who claim rights as representing deceased persons. Sometimes a dispute arises between joint owners of a box. In that case the only safe course for a safe deposit company would be to recognize the right of none until it had been passed on by the court. What is called a bill of interpleader, to determine which one has the right, should be filed in court, unless the conflicting interests can agree or one of them gives a bond to the company to insure its freedom from liability if it delivers the goods to him.
SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANY HAS NO LIEN.—A safe deposit company has no lien on the contents of a box for anything due to it. In that respect it is different from an ordinary warehouseman and a carrier, who have a lien on the goods in their possession for their charges. The reason is that a safe deposit company is not in such possession of the contents of a box as to give it a lien. If the renter of the box does not pay his bills, however, the company has the right to open the box and remove its contents, keeping them safe for the owner.
GIFT OF GOODS IN A SAFE DEPOSIT BOX.—It was held in a case, decided in the State of Illinois, that the gift of the keys of a safe deposit box amounted to a valid gift of property in the box when made with that intention. In order to make a good gift there must be a valid delivery, and it was held that the delivery of the keys amounted to a symbolic delivery of the contents of the box.
RIGHT OF SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANY TO SUE FOR GOODS WRONGFULLY TAKEN.—If goods are wrongfully removed from the box of a depositor, the safe deposit company has a right to reclaim them like any bailee, for it is the law that if goods are taken out of the hands of a carrier, warehouseman or other bailee wrongfully, the bailee may reclaim the goods from the wrongdoer, and bring an action at law for them, not as owner, but because the bailee has the right of possession to them while in his custody, and he may be liable if he lets them get into the hands of any one other than the true owner.
LIABILITY OF SAFE DEPOSIT COMPANIES UNDER INHERITANCE TAX LAWS.—One case in regard to the Illinois inheritance tax law indicates an imposition of some burden on the safe deposit company. The company is required to notify the Attorney-General ten days before it allows access by the representative of a deceased person to his box, and under certain circumstances the safe deposit company is required to retain, from the contents of the box, a sufficient amount to pay the tax, and is made liable if it fails to do so. This provision was held constitutional by the Supreme Court of Illinois.