Larceny cannot arise for which type of property?

• A. Abandoned property
• B. Lost property
• C. Mislaid property
• D. Property lacking owner knowledge

Answer: (A)

Larceny requires taking property that belongs to someone else with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of it. If the owner has abandoned the property, there is no longer a competing ownership right to violate. In that case, taking the item isn’t taking property from another person, so it cannot be larceny.

Lost property, mislaid property, or property whose owner is unknown all involve rights still rooted in someone else. A person who consciously takes such property with the intent to steal could commit larceny, because the property remains the property of another and the taker’s act deprives that owner of it. Absent abandonment, there is a rightful owner whose rights are implicated, so larceny can arise.

So the type of property for which larceny cannot arise is abandoned property.