Don Henley is being sued by one of the men who was accused of stealing his handwritten lyrics to several classic Eagles tunes.
Glenn Horowitz, one of three men to stand trial for the alleged theft, filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against Henley and his manager Irving Azoff, claiming the pair always knew the lyrics in question were not stolen.
Horowitz, a rare books dealer, was tried alongside Craig Inciardi and rock memorabilia dealer Edward Kosinski, with the trio accused of trying to auction off the handwritten notes and lyrics for songs from the Eagles’ classic album Hotel California.
The trio claimed they got the sheets from writer Ed Sanders, who came into possession of the documents in the ’70s when he worked on Henley’s never-published biography. In 2005, Sanders sold the manuscripts to Horowitz, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski. Henley has always maintained the manuscripts weren’t given to Sanders, so he had no right to sell them.
The case finally went to trial in February of 2024, but was dismissed due to a late disclosure of documents by Henley’s team.
In the new suit, lawyers for Horowitz argue Henley and Azoff, “knew that Ed Sanders had acquired and retained the handwritten lyrics legitimately and without theft or misappropriation.” The suit accuses the pair of malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more. Horowitz is seeking punitive damages.
In a statement provided to ABC Audio, Dan Petrocelli, attorney for Henley and Azoff, shared, “Don Henley was a witness and a victim in a criminal trial brought by the Manhattan District Attorney after a formal indictment of Glenn Horowitz by a New York grand jury,” adding, “The indictment highlighted the dark underbelly of the memorabilia business that exploited the brazen, unauthorized taking and selling of Mr. Henley’s handwritten lyrics. The only malicious prosecution involved here is the filing of this case by Mr. Horowitz.”
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