Weeks after Eagles rocker Don Henley testified in court, prosecutors dropped a criminal case centered on roughly 100 pages of his handwritten song lyrics — which he claimed were stolen from him.
The case was abruptly dismissed amid a trial in New York on Wednesday, acquitting rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz, former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Craig Inciardi and rock memorabilia dealer Edward Kosnski, according to the Associated Press.
The media reported that Judge Curtis Farber told the court that witnesses in the case and their lawyers “manipulated” prosecutors by using the attorney-client privilege to deliberately withhold information they thought would be damaging to their case. These specific announcements have not been made public.
“Attorney-client privilege is a fundamental safeguard in our justice system, and you rarely, if ever, have to waive it to prosecute or defend a case,” Dan Petrocelli, Henley’s attorney, tells PEOPLE in a statement. “As a victim in this case, Mr. Henley has once again become a victim of this unjust outcome. He will seek all of his rights in the civil courts.”
The case goes back to the late 1970s, when Henley and the Eagles began working with writer Ed Sanders on a biography of the band that never saw the light of day.
Don Henley says 1980 arrest was ‘bad decision’ he regrets ‘to this day’ as he testifies at Eagles Lyrics trial
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Don Henley on February 26, 2024 in a court in New York.
YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty
Henley reportedly testified last month that while he may have given Sanders, who has not been charged in the case, access to song lyrics to help write the book, he “never gave” him permission to keep the pages, which contain handwritten lyrics to classics like ” Hotel California”.
In 2005, Sanders sold the song pages to Horowitz, who later sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski, who have all pleaded not guilty to charges including criminal possession of stolen property, according to the AP. Henley said he was shocked to see the sites appear in the 2012 auctions; that year he bought four pages for $8,500.
“It was just not something that was for public viewing. That was our process,” he said while testifying last month, AP reports. “It was something very personal, very private. I wouldn’t show it to anyone though.”
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The Eagles (Don Felder, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner) ca. 1977. RB/Redferns
Prosecutors reportedly agreed that defense attorneys were “blindsided” by the 6,000 pages of communications involving Henley and his attorneys and associates over the past few days.
“These delayed disclosures revealed relevant information that the defense should have had the opportunity to explore,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Aaron Ginandes told the court, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, the paper reported that Kosinski said he felt “very well” as he left court, while Inciardi said in a written statement that “the next step is to restore our reputation.”
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