Family Fight Over Steinbeck Rights Results in $7.3 Million Award

A long-running legal battle among John Steinbeck’s heirs over literary rights properly resulted in a $5.25 million compensatory and $2 million punitive award for his third wife’s daughter, the Ninth Circuit ruled Sept. 9.

But a separate $5.9 million punitive damages award in favor of Elaine Steinbeck’s daughter, Waverly Kaffaga, must be set aside, the court said.

Kaffaga alleged that the author’s son from a previous marriage, Thomas Steinbeck, Thom’s wife, Gail Knight Steinbeck, and their company continued to assert rights in the author’s literary works despite a decades-old agreement.

Thom and Gail allegedly refused to accept court rulings finding ...