State v. Langford
Louisiana Court of Appeal
467 So.2d 41 (1985)
Langford (defendant) opened an interest-earning checking account at Hibernia National Bank with a deposit of $5,362.21, but a computer coding error mistakenly gave the account unlimited free overdrafts. Months later the bank discovered the account was overdrawn by $848,879.39, and had been overdrawn within weeks of opening, even though Langford made no further deposits and wrote over 200 checks; he received daily overdraft notices and monthly statements showing the negative balance the whole time, though a bank manager was supposed to review the printouts daily and instead routinely threw them away unread. When the bank finally demanded repayment, Langford couldn't pay and instead offered a promissory note. He was convicted of theft and appealed, arguing there was no evidence he intended to permanently deprive the bank of the money rather than simply treating it as a loan.
Whether a defendant who mistakenly receives property and forms the intent to steal it at the time of the taking commits larceny.