Eagles' Don Henley Sues Over Ownership of 'Hotel California' Lyric Sheets

The Eagles' Don Henley wants a federal judge to declare him the official owner of his own handwritten lyric sheets from his band's classic "Hotel California" album.

TMZ obtained the docs ... Don filed his lawsuit to get the lyrics back in his possession after they were seized during a criminal investigation into 2 men -- Edward Kosinski and Craig Inciardi -- who tried to sell them at an auction.

Don reminds the judge of his legal woes in the matter ... emphasizing the papers documented his creative process in developing the songs for The Eagles' iconic 1976 album.

DON HENLEY PERFORMANCE PHOTOS

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He says, as far as he knew, they were located in a converted barn on his L.A. County property -- but, in March 2012, he was shocked to discover his lyric sheets were being auctioned off by Kosinski and Inciardi.

The men, along with rare books dealer Glenn Horowitz , were indicted as part of the 2022 investigation ... after Don filed police reports and asserted the materials were stolen from him when he gave an author access to them many years ago for a book about the band.

THE EAGLES ONSTAGE

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However, in March, a NYC court later dismissed the charges against the men due to a technical issue about document production -- but Henley still wants the lyric sheets back and is now taking up the issue in court.