Wells v. Cole

Devaney, Chief Justice.

This action involves the sole question of whether the contents of a safety deposit box are subject to garnishment. The situation here is that which usually prevails in the case of banks and other concerns which own safety deposit boxes and rent or hire them out to depositors. The usual safety deposit box is controlled by a double lock which can be opened only by the simultaneous use of two different keys, one a guard or master key retained by the bank, the other a key delivered to the depositor at the time that he rents the box. The bank cannot gain entrance to the box…