About 50 distant cousins of Henry Darger sued the landlords who saved his art, 49 years after his death

Darger was a hospital janitor who lived alone in one rented room^†. His landlords, Nathan and Kiyoko Lerner, found thousands of pages of writing and large illustrated panels in the room when he left^†. The Lerners kept and promoted the work, which now sells for high prices^†. Their claim rests on the statement that Darger gave them his work. Darger left no will^†. Relatives were found after a photographer shared a student law note that questioned the Lerners' copyright claim. In January 2022 they petitioned an Illinois probate court. About 50 heirs were identified, most of them first cousins twice or three times removed. In mid-2022 Christen Sadowski was named supervised administrator of the Henry Darger Estate. On 27 July 2022 the estate sued Kiyoko Lerner and her foundation in federal court in Chicago for copyright infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices. It also accused her of cybersquatting over the domain officialhenrydarger.com. The court denied a motion to dismiss on grounds of delay, citing the Supreme Court's Petrella ruling that laches does not bar copyright claims. The case outcome is not confirmed^†.