Don Henley wants his stuff back. He’s filed suit asking for the return of handwritten ’70s-era Eagles lyrics that were the subject of a recent criminal trial.
“These 100 pages of personal lyric sheets belong to Mr. Henley and his family, and he has never authorized defendants or anyone else to peddle them for profit,” attorney Daniel Petrocelli said in an official statement.
Charges against memorabilia dealer Edward Kosinski and former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi were dropped back in March. Rare book dealer Glenn Horowitz also faced a criminal complaint but is not named in Henley’s new legal action.
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“Don Henley filed suit today in a New York federal court for return of property that was stolen from him — his private handwritten notes and lyrics to the iconic songs from the Hotel California album,” Petrocelli said.
Inciardi, Kosinki and Horowitz were charged with conspiring to possess stolen property in conjunction with an attempted auction of the lyric sheets. They were valued at more than $700,000 during the court case. The material was originally acquired from writer Ed Sanders, who’d been given the lyrics decades ago while researching a book he never completed.
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The New York District Attorney’s Office kept the Eagles lyrics in its custody following the criminal proceeding as officials tried to sort out their rightful ownership.
“Because Kosinski and Inciardi have wrongly claimed ownership of Henley’s lyric sheets,” the lawsuit argues, “a declaration from this court that Henley is the lawful owner is needed to supply ‘satisfactory proof of his title’ and facilitate the [district attorney’s] return of Henley’s lyric sheets to Henley.”
Henley “demands a jury trial for all issues so triable,” his lawyers added. Eagles are set to begin a residency at Sphere in Las Vegas three months from now, after extending the dates earlier this week.
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