Steinbeck Kin Gets Break in Court Penalty, but Stern Warning

LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court attempted to close the book on endless litigation between the relatives of author John Steinbeck in a ruling that upheld a $5 million verdict against his daughter-in-law, but threw out $8 million she faced in punitive damages.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday delivered partial victories to the late author’s stepdaughter, Waverly Scott Kaffaga, and to Gail Steinbeck, the widow of his son, Thomas.

The court upheld a jury verdict two years ago in Los Angeles federal court that found Gail Steinbeck and her husband meddled with Kaffaga’s plans as executor of the estate to profit off the Nobel Prize-winning author’s works.

Kaffaga, whose mother, Elaine, was married to Steinbeck when he died in 1968, said Gail Steinbeck helped kill a remake of “The Grapes of Wrath” to be directed by Steven Spielberg and an “East of Eden” reboot starring Jennifer Lawrence.

The ruling finally allows Kaffaga to bring “Steinbeck’s many works to life for future generations,” attorney Susan Kohlmann said in a statement.

The 3-0 ruling said it should mark an end to nearly a half-century of coast-to-coast litigation over the rights to Steinbeck’s works. The judges said Kaffaga even could seek a lower court injunction to end what it called Steinbeck’s “recidivist litigation.”

“This has to end. We cannot say it any clearer,” Judge Richard Tallman wrote.

Gail Steinbeck had previously said after her husband lost a related case in a New York court that she wouldn’t stop fighting until “I draw my last breath.”

While she laughed off that comment during testimony two years ago as “silly,” her lawyer on Wednesday wouldn’t rule out future court action.

Attorney Matthew Dowd said they were pleased the court struck down the punitive damages, but he said they were “assessing our options moving forward.”