Steinbeck Heirs Sue His Widow’s Estate

Antipathy between author John Steinbeck’s third wife and his children from a second marriage is at the heart of a decades-long dispute over control of his estate.

A suit filed in federal court in Manhattan this week on behalf of Steinbeck’s only surviving son and grandchild alleges that the author’s widow, her estate and the literary agents she employed conspired to deprive his heirs of their rights to their literary legacy.

Because the rights to Steinbeck’s works were not properly managed, the suit alleges, the writer’s son Thomas and granddaughter, Blake Smyle, were deprived of at least $10 million and $8 million, respectively. Steinbeck’s most famous novels, several of which have been made into movies, include “The Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden” and “Of Mice and Men.”

Steinbeck died in 1968. Although his will established trusts for his two sons, it said nothing specific about the disposition of his copyrights. (John Steinbeck IV died in 1991 and is survived by his daughter, Blake.)

Other than the trusts and a few specific bequests, the remainder of the estate was left to Elaine Steinbeck, who died in April 2003. She left half her interest in her husband’s estate to her daughter from a previous marriage and half to her two sisters.

But the inheritance of certain copyright interests is governed by copyright law, a principle that Steinbeck’s two sons used when they sued their father’s estate in 1981. The terms of that suit, settled in 1983, are confidential.

According to Mark S. Lee of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, who represents Steinbeck’s son and granddaughter, some of the facts alleged in the new complaint weren’t available until after Elaine Steinbeck’s death.

When John Steinbeck died, the copyright law of 1909 was still in effect. In 1976, a revised copyright law was passed, giving heirs the opportunity to rescind old copyright agreements. In the case of Steinbeck’s works, that meant rights that had been owned by publishers and movie studios could be terminated, renegotiated or resold. The latest suit alleges that Steinbeck’s widow failed to exercise termination rights, to the detriment of his heirs, and deliberately withheld information about management of the estate’s assets from them.

“This is not a happy day for my clients,” Lee said in a telephone interview. “They view the suit as an important but necessary step in retrieving rights that they believe belong to them.”