Eagles’ Don Henley sues for the return of his handwritten ‘Hotel California’ notes and lyrics

The Eagles‘ Don Henley has filed a lawsuit for the return of his handwritten notes and lyrics from the ‘Hotel California’ album.

Henley filed the civil complaint in New York federal court on Friday (June 27), per the Associated Press. It follows a previous case against three collectibles experts in March, who were accused of trying to sell the notes. However, the judge dropped the case midway after concluding that Don Henley had “manipulated” prosecutors by withholding evidence: “It is now clear that [Henley and longtime Eagles manager Irving Azoff] and their lawyers […] used the privilege to obfuscate and hide information that they believed would be damaging to their position that the lyric sheets were stolen.

“Albeit late, I commend the prosecution for refusing to allow itself or the courts to be further manipulated for the benefit of anyone’s personal gain. District Attorney Bragg and the prosecutorial team here, while eating a slice of humble pie, are displaying the highest level of integrity in moving to dismiss the charges. I am impressed.” Henley has since maintained the documents were stolen.

Now, Henley has filed a lawsuit against rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and rock memorabilia seller Edward Kosinski. In a statement from Henley’s lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, the Eagles co-founder claimed that “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.”