Don Henley has filed a lawsuit in New York seeking to recover his original handwritten lyrics and notes from the Eagles' 'Hotel California' album. The civil action follows the dismissal of criminal charges against three collectibles dealers who were accused of attempting to sell the documents.

The 100-page manuscript, currently in the custody of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office, is at the center of a complex ownership dispute. Henley claims the documents were stolen, while dealers Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski assert legitimate ownership rights.

The lawsuit seeks a court declaration confirming Henley's ownership of the lyrics. His attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, argues that Henley never authorized anyone to sell these personal documents for profit.

Defense attorneys claim Henley gave the manuscript to a writer for an unpublished Eagles biography decades ago, who then sold it to rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz. Horowitz subsequently sold the documents to Inciardi and Kosinski, who attempted to auction some pages in 2012.

The criminal case was dropped in March after Judge Curtis Farber determined that Henley had withheld information from prosecutors. Over 6,000 pages of communications between Henley and his legal team were only revealed after a last-minute waiver of attorney-client privilege.

Defense lawyers Shawn Crowley and Stacey Richman have called the new lawsuit "baseless" and announced plans to counter-sue Henley for alleged misuse of the justice system. Horowitz, who no longer claims ownership of the documents, is not named in the current lawsuit.

Related Articles

Previous Articles