Judge claims Don Henley “manipulated” lawyers over ‘Hotel California’ case
The case surrounding allegedly stolen lyric sheets for a plethora of classic Eagles songs has been dismissed by a New York judge. The judge abruptly dismissed the criminal case, after concluding that songwriter Don Henley had “manipulated” prosecutors by withholding evidence.
Henley alleged that Glenn Horowitz, a rare book dealer, Craig Inciardi, a curator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Edward Kosinski, an auctioneer, had stolen handwritten lyric sheets for a variety of Eagles tracks, including ‘Hotel California’, in the hopes of selling them on for a profit.
However, the case was dismissed on March 6th following the revelation that Henley had handed over some 6000 emails and documents, which conclusively proved that the three men had obtained the lyric sheets legally.
As the men had claimed from the beginning, they came into ownership of the handwritten lyrics legitimately from author Ed Sanders, who had written a book about the band during the 1970s, allowing him to access the handwritten material.
At the hearing yesterday, Justice Curtis Farber said, “It is now clear that [Henley along with 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,” before dismissing the case.
Henley’s attorney, Dan Petrocelli, told Associated Press that his client “has once again been victimised by this unjust outcome,” adding that the singer “will pursue all his rights in the civil courts.”
During the trial, the Eagles songwriter was also questioned regarding his 1980 arrest, following the discovery of an unconscious, underage girl in his Los Angeles home.
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