The Eagles launch legal action against Hotel California
The Eagles are reportedly suing a Mexican hotel that shares the same name as their 1976 anthem ‘Hotel California’.
According to papers obtained by Reuters, The Eagles claim that the owners of the 11-room hotel in Todos Santos on the coast of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula "actively encourage” guests to believe they are linked to the band.
The Los Angeles soft rockers allege that the owners play ‘Hotel California’ and other Eagles tracks through the hotel sound system and they sell Hotel California t-shirts and memorabilia to guests.
"Defendants lead U.S. consumers to believe that the Todos Santos Hotel is associated with the Eagles and, among other things, served as the inspiration for the lyrics in 'Hotel California,' which is false," the complaint says.
It also states that guests who stay at the self-dubbed “legendary” hotel mistakenly link it to The Eagles in their online reviews.
The Reuters report says the lawsuit is seeking a “halt to any infringement” and a “variety of damages.”
Hotel California was founded in 1950 more than a quarter of a century before The Eagles released their seminal song, however it underwent a series of name changes over the decades before reverting back to Hotel California in 2001.
The Eagles headline The Classic West and The Classic East festivals in Los Angeles and New York this July, topping a bill that also features Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. Fleetwood Mac headline the other night performing after Earth, Wind & Fire and Journey.