Don Henley in fight for ‘Hotel California’ lyric sheets

Don Henley is fighting for his words and his lines.

Henley has recently filed a lawsuit to regain ownership to Eagles' sheets containing the lyrics to Hotel California and other popular tracks, after a halt in a previous trial over stolen manuscripts in March.

The Eagles' star is requesting a declarative judgement in his current lawsuit, stating that he is the rightful owner of around 100 pages of his handwritten and personal lyric sheets. 

Three individuals were charged with using those sheets in July 2022, and a trial was scheduled to start in late February but was postponed for many weeks after the prosecution withdrew its case after learning about the "damaging" new revelations.

“Don Henley has filed suit today in a New York federal court for return of property that was stolen from him — his private handwritten notes and lyrics to the iconic songs from the Hotel California album,” said Henley’s attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, in a statement to Variety.

“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.”