The husband of a woman who alleges that she lost millions of dollars worth of items when her safe deposit box was drilled open after her Bank of America branch closed in 2013 testified Monday that the missing items included diamonds, gold coins and even a $1 Confederate bill.
Lianna Sarabekyan sued BofA in June 2014, alleging that she never received notice that the Universal City branch where she rented a large safe deposit box in September 2012 would be closing and that she needed to remove all the box’s contents by June 7, 2013.
Her spouse, Agassi Halajyan, testified on her behalf before a Los Angeles Superior Court jury hearing trial of her lawsuit against the bank.
BofA lawyers dispute her breach-of-contract claim and say Sarabekyan was sent four notices. The lawyers also say the law places limits on liability to banks where valuables are hard to identify and when a branch is closing and proper notice is given.
Halajyan — who is not a plaintiff — said outside the courtroom that the couple has recovered only about $1.6 million worth of their valuables and that their losses total about $8 million.
Questioned by the couple’s attorney, Richard Foster, Halajyan said his wife called him from the Universal City branch on June 27, 2013, and told him that bank employees informed her that her that her box was drilled open and the contents sent to a BofA storage facility on the East Coast.
Halajyan said his wife passed the phone at his request to the bank manager so he could talk to the bank employee.
“I wanted to know who drilled it and when they drilled it,” Halajyan testified.
But he said he was refused any information because he was not an account holder.
Halajyan said that when he arrived at the branch, the manager initially denied him a copy of the inventory sheet the bank had made of the contents allegedly in the couple’s box when it was drilled open. He said he made calls and was able to get an executive at another BofA location to order the manager to turn over the inventory document, but that numerous items were missing.
He said he asked the manager why his double eagle gold coins were not listed.
“She said she was not an expert in gold,” Halajyan said.
Halajyan said the couple was assured by bank employees that everything they had in the box would be returned. He said they had to go through additional hoops before being notified that their items were available in mid- July 2013 at the BofA Studio City branch, only to find out that not all their valuables were there.
Among the items missing were 44 diamonds with a current value of about $4.5 million and numerous large and small denomination bills, all worth much more than their face value, he said.
Halajyan estimated that a dozen gold coins collectively worth more than $200,000 were missing, as was a $1 Confederate bill with a value of about $150.
— City News Service