Niriya Khafizov sued Chase Manhattan Bank after the contents of her safety deposit box supposedly disappeared. (Khafizov alleged that the box had contained some $160,000 worth of jewelry, $60,000 in cash and $3,000 in coins.)
Since the parties' lease for the safe deposit box shielded the bank from liability for this type of loss, the Queens County Supreme Court dismissed the case.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, Second Department, thought that the bank had to breach a standard of "ordinary care," in order for responsibility to be triggered.
Since the bank required signature verification before customers were allowed entry to the safe deposit box area, and the boxes could only be opened with both a customer key and a bank key, the AD2 thought Khafizov's loss wasn't compensable.
Guard those family jewels!
To view a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Khafizov v. Chase Manhattan Bank