Don Henley filed a lawsuit Friday demanding the return of his handwritten lyrics to the critically acclaimed hit “Hotel California.” The Associated Press.
Henley said 100 pages were stolen from him, and he vowed to take legal action in March when his criminal case against three people who attempted to sell the developmental songs was dismissed by a New York court.
“These 100 pages are of personal lyric letters Mr. Henley Henley’s attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, said, “This matter is between him and his family and he never gave any authority to the defendants or anyone else to sell it for a profit.”
Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski were initially charged with fourth-degree conspiracy after they allegedly attempted to sell manuscripts, including “developmental lyrics for the Eagles song ‘Hotel California,'” as documented in the original indictment. New York District Attorney Office in 2022.
Eagles co-founder Don Henley ‘suffering’ by dismissal of ‘Hotel California’ lawsuit: lawyer
Don Henley sued to reclaim his original lyrics to “Hotel California”. (Photo: Laura Roberts/Invision/AP, File)
In March, prosecutors dropped the criminal case midway through the trial, citing newly available emails that defense lawyers said raised questions about the fairness of the trial. The emails came to light after Henley decided last week to apparently waive attorney-client privilege even though he and other prosecution witnesses had already testified.
Henley’s newly appointed attorney, Dan Petrocelli, told Fox News Digital in a statement through Henley’s representatives, “Attorney-client privilege is a bedrock safeguard in our justice system, and rarely, if ever, do you have to waive it to prosecute or defend a case. As the victim in this case, Mr. Henley has once again suffered from this unjust outcome. He will pursue all of his rights in the civil courts.”
According to the district attorney, these manuscripts are collectively worth over $1 million.
Henley testified in court in March against three men accused of stealing the song’s lyrics. (David Delgado)
Henley fought for decades to reclaim his own lyric pages. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Decades ago, Ed Sanders allegedly stole notepads Eagles while working on an authorized book about the band in the 70s. The biography was never published, but Sanders reportedly kept the handwritten work and later sold it to rare book dealer Horowitz for $50,000.
Horowitz then sold these pages to former engineer Inciardi. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Kosinski, a curator and memorabilia collector. Inciardi and Kosinski attempted to sell the lyric sheets through Kosinski’s company, Gotta Have Rock & Roll, but Henley caught on to them in 2012.
According to the indictment, Henley then purchased “Don Henley’s original handwritten lyrics to the Eagles song ‘Hotel California'” for $8,500 on April 25, 2012.
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Two years later, Koscinski attempted to contact Sotheby’s and sell “Eagles handwritten lyrics in Don Henley’s (sic) hand for New Kid in Town.” Shortly after, Inciardi sent a similar email informing the auction house that developmental lyrics for “Life in the Fast Lane” were also available for sale.
The Eagles included (L-R) Don Felder, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner. (RB/Redferns)
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“When Don Henley learned that Inciardi and Kosinski were trying to sell portions of the manuscripts, he filed a police report, told the defendants that the materials had been stolen, and demanded the return of his property,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said in a statement released with the charges in 2022.
“Rather than making any effort to ascertain that they in fact had legitimate ownership, the defendants campaigned for years to prevent Henley from retrieving the manuscripts.”
Throughout 2015, Kosinski and Inciardi continued their attempts to sell 13 pages of developmental lyrics to “Hotel California”. According to the DA, in December 2016, the DA’s office executed search warrants and recovered Henley’s stolen manuscripts from both Sotheby’s and Kosinski’s New Jersey residence.
The Eagles were the most popular band of the 70s and their reunion tour in the 90s was also very successful. L-R: Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Randy Meisner. (Henry Diltz/Corbis)
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“Soon after, Horowitz attempted to take advantage of the recent death of the founder Eagles member Glenn Frey To avoid criminal prosecution; he submitted a new false testimony, this time claiming the material came from the now deceased Frey,” the D.A. shared in a statement. “In an email message, Horowitz observed that “(Frey), alas, is dead and identifying him as the source would make this go away forever.”
